Days of Summer
by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies
Summary: Fiyero is in love with Elphaba. There is only one problem: she doesn't believe him. It's up to him, with some help from Galinda, Nessa, and Boq, to convince her. Sunny, fluffy, happy Fiyeraba.
1. Day One

**AN: Because I'm impatient, and now in a holiday mood, and I want to share that with you :). So here it is! Summer, sun, beach, fluff, and Fiyeraba. Enjoy!**

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**Day One**

"Come on!" Galinda was hopping from one foot onto the other, looking more excited than the others had ever seen her – and that said something. "Hurry, guys! There's still time to go to the beach before dinner!"

"Actually," Nessarose, whose chair was being pushed by Boq just a little bit behind the bubbly blonde, said, "I think I'd like to lie down for a few moments when we get there. I'm rather tired from the long journey."

Galinda nodded. "Okay. I understand." She turned to her roommate expectantly, a pout and imploring look already on her face, but the green girl shook her head.

"No, thanks, Glin," she said. "I'm not really a big fan of sun and sea."

"But _Elphie_!"

"It's bad enough that you talked me into going on this trip in the first place," Elphaba said sternly. "I'm not going to let you talk me into swimming or sunbathing. I don't like the sea and sunbathing wouldn't be of much use, anyway." She held up one emerald arm to illustrate her point. "Though I am wondering now what colour I would become if I spent too much time in the sun," she mused. "Would it even be possible for me to tan? Or would I just turn a darker shade of green?"

"Only one way to find out," Galinda said with a mischievous grin, skipping along beside her best friend.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "_No_, Galinda."

The blonde huffed. "You're no fun." She looked at the Munchkin boy that was now walking ahead of her. "Boq?"

"No, thanks," he called over his shoulder. "I'm going to stay with Nessa."

"Fine." Galinda crossed her arms and glared at her friends. "Just perfectly fine. Nice, guys. I love you, too."

Elphaba chuckled at her friend's antics and Boq shook his head with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Galinda," Nessarose apologised anxiously, worried that she might have offended the blonde. "I promise I'll go with you tomorrow –"

"Oh, don't worry, Nessa!" Galinda caught up with the wheelchair and smiled at the younger girl. "I was only joking! It's perfectly understandable that you want to go lie down – it has been a rather tiring day. I was just hoping your sister would be in a social mood and join me."

Nessa laughed. "Elphaba? In a social mood?"

Galinda made a face. "You're right, of course… but a girl can hope, right?"

"I'm right here," Elphaba called from behind them. "I can hear you."

"Good!" Galinda shouted over her shoulder before turning back to Nessa to chat with the girl.

Elphaba grinned.

"Hey, Fae?" Fiyero said from behind her, running slightly to catch up with her. He gave her a crooked grin that may or may not sent a shiver down her spine, but she was careful not to let it show.

"Hey," she said.

He looked at her, unusually solemn. "I love you," he said.

She sighed irritably and shook him off. "Fiyero, you saying it countless times is not going to convince me of its truth," she said, annoyed.

"But it _is _true!"

"We all know it's not. Stop your stupid games, they're not funny." With that, she strode ahead of him and went to walk next to her sister.

As if that was her cue, Galinda hung back to walk next to Fiyero. "You're not going about this the right way, you know," she said.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Galinda, I already tried everything. _Everything_. I explained to her how I feel. I told her so many times. I tried to ask her out. I even tried to kiss her." He shook his head. "But every time, she just snaps at me and pushes me away. She doesn't believe me."

"Well, no, of course she doesn't," Galinda said matter-of-factly. "Fiyero, she's never been loved by a boy before. I'm sure Nessa loves her and I guess her father does, too, to some extent; but she's always tried to keep them at a certain emotional distance because she thinks it's her fault that –" She cut herself off and clasped her hands over her own mouth, eyes widening in horror. "Sorry. Forget I said that."

"She thinks _what_ is her fault?" Fiyero asked curiously, but Galinda refused to answer.

"It's a secret," she explained. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

Fiyero sighed, but nodded.

"Anyway," the blonde girl continued, "she doesn't have any experience at all when it comes to boyfriends. Think about it – I was her first friend."

Fiyero grimaced, realising the truth of that. Never having had any friends, let alone a boyfriend, of course she would be wary of his intentions.

"But what do I have to do, then?" he asked Galinda helplessly. "If she doesn't believe me and I can't show her…"

"You _can _show her." Galinda shifted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "Just not all at once. Don't try to kiss her or ask her out. Just… spend some time with her. Alone. Take her to the beach, or not – join her when she's sitting on the porch or inside with a book. Talk to her. Make her feel at ease around you. Basically, I want you to do things that normally would be considered dates, but she cannot under any circumstances know that they are dates," she concluded, feeling rather proud of herself for that smartified conclusion.

Fiyero frowned. "That sounds confusing," he admitted.

Galinda knocked him on the head. "To you, maybe. You're not as brainless as you look, Fiyero. Come on. I'm sure you can figure it out." She tossed her hair over one shoulder and smiled at him. "Good luck." With that, she ran forward to catch up with the others again.

Fiyero stayed a little behind them the entire way from the carriage stop to the beach house they were to stay in for the week, thinking about the possibilities he had. Maybe Galinda was right. If he couldn't tell Elphaba and she didn't believe him if he tried to show her, then maybe he had to try a different way. It certainly sounded like a good idea to take things more slowly with her. He knew it took her a long time to fully start trusting someone – frankly, he didn't think there was anyone she fully trusted at all, except for maybe Galinda.

His mind made up, he looked up and smiled. "Hey, guys, we're here."

The others looked up as well, a little disturbed because the prince had interrupted their conversation; but when they saw what lay ahead of them, they gasped in unison.

"Oh my Oz," Galinda breathed and Nessa clasped her hands together in delight.

"Oh, it's perfect!" she exclaimed softly.

The beach house turned out to be more of a mansion, painted a soft, creamy orange colour, with a darker orange roof. There was a porch surrounding the house with a rocking bench next to the front door.

"_This _is your summer house?" Elphaba demanded, clearly taken aback.

Fiyero grinned sheepishly. "Yes, well, we are still royalty," he said almost apologetically.

Galinda squealed and stormed inside, not even waiting for the others. Fiyero helped Boq lift Nessa's chair onto the porch and told them about the house as they went inside.

"There's a kitchen, a dining room, a bathroom, a parlour, and a sitting room downstairs," he explained. "There are also two bedrooms, each with another adjoining bathroom. Upstairs, we have four more bedrooms – with adjoining bathrooms, of course – and another sitting room, as well as a drawing room. Two of the bedrooms upstairs have balconies. There's also an attic, which used to be another sitting room, but now it's just used to store some stuff we have all but forgotten about."

Nessa was looking around with wide eyes as Boq pushed her through the hallway and into the parlour. "Wow."

"It's beautiful," Boq commented. "I think we could last a whole summer here."

"Too bad we only have two weeks," Nessa agreed. They had all wanted to make it a longer trip, but the plans had been made at the last minute and Fiyero's parents had already promised the summer house to another family, some old acquaintances of the king and the queen's, for the rest of the summer. They were lucky they even got these first two weeks of the vacation to spend here.

"I think Nessa should take one of the ground floor bedrooms," Fiyero said with a smile in the direction of the wheelchair-bound girl. "The house should be big enough for you to be able to navigate your chair around without too much trouble, but getting you up and down the stairs all the time might get a bit tricky."

Nessa laughed. "I think so, too, yes. Don't worry, I don't mind sleeping on the ground floor," she assured the prince, already starting to wheel herself off.

"I'll take the other ground floor bedroom, then," said Elphaba, making to follow her sister.

Boq stopped her. "Let me."

She blinked at him. "What?"

"Nessa and I have been together for nearly ten months," he reminded her. "I think I know how to help her by now."

"He's right, Elphie!" Galinda called as she came skipping down the stairs to join the others. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to let Nessa go, you know. And I want you to sleep upstairs so I can sneak into your room in the middle of the night and secretly give you make-overs," she added as an afterthought.

"She's my sister," Elphaba insisted, ignoring the blonde's latter statement. "I've taken care of her all my life."

"I'll manage with Boq, Fabala," said Nessa gently. "Don't worry. You're on holiday, too. You shouldn't be worrying about me and taking care of me all the time."

"But –"

"I'll take the room next to Nessa's," Boq decided. "If there's a problem, I'll come and get you right away, okay?"

"Come on, Elphie!" Galinda whooped, not waiting for the green girl's answer. She linked her arm with Elphaba's and started dragging her up the stairs. "Let's go pick out our rooms!"

"I want a balcony!" Fiyero called after them, but Galinda shouted back over her shoulder, "Too bad!"

Galinda immediately picked one of the rooms and threw her suitcase onto the bed. "There. Finally. I can't believe I dragged that thing the entire way from the carriage stop to the house!" she complained.

"Oh no, what a nightmare," Elphaba supplied sarcastically, but the blonde completely missed it.

"Indeed! Well, I'm very glad we're here now." She opened her suitcase and pulled out a pale pink swimsuit. "I'm going to go to the beach. Are you sure you don't want to join me, Elphie?"

"I'm sure," said the green girl and Galinda shrugged and bounded back down the stairs. Elphaba followed her at a much slower pace, taking everything in as she stepped out onto the porch. It really was a beautiful house. The architecture was typically Vinkun and the view was magnificent; both bedroom balconies, as well as the porch, had a great view of the beach and the lake behind it, glistening in the bright sunlight. Elphaba inhaled slowly, smiling at the fresh air around here. And everything was so quiet…

It was the perfect break from the always busy campus of Shiz University.


	2. Day Two

**AN: I'm glad you're all liking this! :)**

**Bombafan: Um... I'm not sure yet. I was going to name it '_Eight days of summer_', but then realised it would probably be longer than eight chapter, but I don't know how many yet... I think maybe something between twelve and fifteen?**

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**Day Two**

The next morning found Elphaba leaning over the balustrade on the porch again, closing her eyes as a gentle breeze caused some strands of hair to dance around her face. She really did love it here. Already she felt so much calmer than she had the day before.

After a while, Fiyero stepped up beside her, chuckling as he watched Galinda running out into the lake. The blonde shrieked loudly when she felt how cold the water was. She had spent the entire first day strolling around the beach and exploring; and now she had told the others firmly that it was time for a swim. Boq was in the water with her and Nessa was sitting on a towel on the beach, reading a book.

Fiyero looked at the green girl next to him. "So? What do you think?" he asked.

"It's beautiful," she said honestly. "I can't believe you're not here every single summer. If I owned a place like this, I'd never leave."

He laughed. "You should see our summer castle," he said, amused. "Or our winter one – Kiamo Ko. Or Adurin Iir, the castle we live in…"

Elphaba held up one hand. "Stop right there. I don't even want to hear it."

He grinned at her.

Galinda was now in the water, happily paddling around. "Elphie!" she shouted. "Please come!"

"No!" Elphaba called back, chuckling.

Fiyero looked at her. "Why not?"

She flushed. "Just… no reason," she said dismissively, but he didn't buy that. He kept on looking at her expectantly until she sighed.

"I hate swimsuits," she confessed, looking away. "Even sleeveless dresses are something I'm not too fond of, but swimsuits just… show way too much skin. I guess it just goes against everything I've ever believed, you know? I have always made a point of showing as little skin as possible, knowing it only freaks other people out even more."

He touched her shoulder lightly. "Fae… we're your friends," he said softly. "We're not 'freaked out' by your skin. It's okay."

She gave him a half-hearted smile. "I know. I'm just not used to it."

He smiled, then had an idea. "How about this," he said. "We'll go swimming together."

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged, suddenly looking slightly uncomfortable. "I, um… well… I can't really explain it. You'll have to see for yourself. But let's just say you're not the only one who is different."

She lifted her other eyebrow as well. "Now you got me curious."

He smiled. "So if I put on a swimsuit, will you do it, too?"

She hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded. "Okay."

He gave her a lopsided grin and disappeared inside. She did, too. They met back on the porch a few minutes later, both of them with a towel firmly wrapped around themselves.

"Ready?" Fiyero asked her and she sighed, nodding reluctantly.

"I guess."

"One, two, three," Fiyero counted and on three, they both lowered their towels.

Elphaba's eyes widened when she saw the strange, blue, diamond-shaped patterns on Fiyero's chest. So that was what he had been talking about.

Fiyero's eyes widened, too, but for an entirely different reason. He swallowed difficultly. _Get yourself together, Tiggular. So she looks hot in a swimsuit. Of course she looks hot in a swimsuit. She looks hot even in a black frock with a braid in her hair and glasses on her nose. She would look hot in a burlap sack. Now stop staring before you creep her out._

Elphaba, however, was too absorbed in her own observations to notice him staring. "What are they?" she asked curiously, leaning in to examine the tattoos closer.

Fiyero shook his head in an attempt to rouse himself from his trance-like state. "Tribal tattoos," he replied, careful not to start staring at her again. "Every member of the royal family has them. I've never… never really showed them to anyone before," he admitted, lowering his eyes. "I did once, when I was younger, but my friends all thought they were weird."

"Well, they're not exactly _normal_," Elphaba acknowledged and the prince looked away, only to start when he suddenly felt her fingers on his chest.

She immediately yanked her hand back. "I'm sorry. Is that okay?"

He nodded, unable to say anything, and watched as she slowly traced one with the tips of her fingers, trying his hardest not to shiver.

"Definitely not normal," she muttered, studying them closely. She looked up at him with a smile. "They're beautiful."

He blinked. "Really?"

She nodded. "I think so, at least. They're different, yes, but not in a bad way. I really think they are beautiful."

Oz, he wished he could kiss her right now.

Instead, he just said quietly, "Thanks," and was rewarded with another smile.

"What about you?" she asked, her voice getting that sarcastic edge again. "You haven't run away screaming yet, so I take it the green doesn't creep you out _that _much…"

"Would you stop talking like that?" he said with a frown. He noticed her trying to cover herself up again, but he grabbed her wrists, preventing her from doing so.

"How many more times do I have to tell you that I lo- _like _your skin," he said, catching himself at the last moment when he saw the slightly panicked look in her eyes, "and that you don't have to hide it from me? Us," he corrected himself. He was such an idiot. "From us. We're your friends, Fae. You don't scare us away that easily." He trailed a finger down her arm, noticing the gooseflesh he left there, and he suppressed an excited grin. So he _did _have some effect on her. "And besides, there's not even anything scary or freaky about your skin. It looks really good on you, you know."

She scoffed. "Fiyero, you don't have to lie to me." She pulled her hands back and rubbed her upper arms, clearly irritated.

He cocked his head. "If you can think my tattoos are beautiful," he said firmly, "then I can think your skin is beautiful. Okay? Okay," he said, without waiting for an answer. He held out one hand for her to take. "Come on. Let's go for a swim."

She took a deep breath. Then she took his hand and allowed him to drag her off the porch and onto the warm sand. Galinda and Boq were cheering from the water and Fiyero, in a rush of boldness, suddenly scooped Elphaba up in his arms. She shrieked and clutched his neck for support and he grinned as he ran into the water with her, then let go.

She protested, spluttering. "Fiyero! What was that for?"

"For fun," he said, chuckling at her face. "You do know what that is, right?"

She splashed water at him and he dove at her, trying to catch her, but she was fast. Before he knew it, she had leapt out of his way and pushed him under the water.

Galinda came swimming towards them, a beaming smile on her face. "Elphie, you came out!" she said happily. "See? It's not so bad!"

"It's not," Elphaba had to admit, grinning when Fiyero came up for air. He looked like a puppy caught in a downpour, his hair sticking to his face and water dripping down from it.

He glared at her. "I'll get you, Thropp. Just you wait and see."

"I'd like to see you try," she sang out before diving under the water again and swimming away.

"Oh, try he will," Galinda giggled, even though Elphaba could no longer hear her. She threw a significant look in Fiyero's direction. "This seems to be going well," she commented.

He grinned at her. "I hope so."

They swam for a while longer, splashing around in the water, before they sat back down on their towels on the beach together. Galinda stretched out in the sun and Elphaba wrung out her long, thick hair.

"Do we have any plans for this afternoon?" Boq asked them as he closed his eyes and raised his face to the sun.

"Well," Galinda perked up, "there's this cute little village not too far away, and they have the most _amazing _dress sho-"

"No!" Elphaba and Fiyero shouted in unison.

Galinda pouted. "You're no fun."

"There are other things to do in that village," said Nessa. "I read about it. Isn't there a market or something there, too?"

"There is," Fiyero agreed. "Every Saturday. We could go there this weekend."

Galinda's eyes lit up. "Ooh, market!"

"There's this man who specialises in Vinkun wine," Fiyero knew. "My parents took me to that market many times when I was younger and we came here in the summer. He always let us taste everything he had, and my father usually bought a few bottles from him, too. If I play the prince card, we could get ourselves some free wine!"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Is everything about alcohol with you?" she asked him in exasperation.

"Excuse me," he protested, "I'm just trying to find something fun to do for us all! And Vinkun wine is not just any kind of alcohol, you know – it's a delicacy known throughout all of Oz!"

"That's true," Boq chimed in. "I've never had any before, but I've heard many things about it. I'd love to try some Vinkun wine, Fiyero."

"Me, too!" Galinda said and Nessa nodded.

"So we'll go to the market this weekend, then," Boq decided.

"There's also live music," Fiyero said. "We could stay there all afternoon and all night without getting bored."

"Sounds good." Galinda fluttered her eyelashes at the others. "And when we're already there, then, could we maybe, just maybe, only for a few tiny hours, go to some of the dress –"

"No," Elphaba cut her off. "I refuse to set foot in a single dress store on my holiday."

"Same here," Fiyero said and Boq agreed, too.

"I'll go with you, Galinda," Nessa said with a smile. "I don't mind so much. We could go tomorrow already, or the day after?"

Galinda beamed at her. "Nessa," she declared, "you are amazing."

"That's settled, then." Fiyero rose to his feet and brushed the sand off his swimming shorts. "I'm going inside to see if there's any lunch."

"Of course you are," Elphaba muttered under her breath, but she was smiling.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Fiyero leant down to tickle her sides, making her gasp and squirm.

"Fiyero!"

"What?" he asked innocently, grinning at her. "Are you ticklish?"

"Stop it!" She swatted at him, but that did not have any effect at all. Finally she leapt to her feet as well, grabbing her towel and chasing after him as she tried to hit him with it.

Nessarose and Boq were watching in interest.

"Do they… _like _one another?" Boq asked, frowning slightly in confusion.

"Fiyero likes Fabala," Nessa told him softly. "He keeps telling her he loves her, but she keeps brushing him off."

They watched as Fiyero caught the green girl around the waist, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her inside as she laughed and shrieked for him to put her down.

"I wonder how much longer it will take her to realise that she is totally into him," Galinda commented drily.


	3. Day Three

**AN: Hello, you all! I went dolphin spotting today - it was amazing! We saw common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. It was the first time I ever saw wild dolphins and it was super exciting!**

**Musicgal3: *raises eyebrow* Are you trying to tell me that it _surprises _you that you are _right _about something happening in my fics?**

**LetWickedNeverDie: Well, it sounds a little perky... :P**

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**Day Three**

Elphaba was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling as she thought about their vacation so far.

It seemed too good to be true. Even though she had been reluctant to come along on this trip at first, she was glad now that she had listened to her friends and let them persuade her to come; she was feeling more relaxed than ever. The beach was beautiful, the lake nice and refreshing, and her friends all seemed so much happier than they had been at Shiz – though in their case, that was probably also because they didn't have to study.

Elphaba kind of missed studying, but she still had her books and of course the company of her friends. She wasn't bored. She liked to rise early and sit on the rocking bench on the porch for a while, watching the sunrise if she was early enough, or reading a book; or just drinking a cup of tea and watching the world around her. She had cooked an elaborate breakfast this morning and the others had been so enthusiastic, they had declared that she simply _had _to make breakfast every single morning now.

And so she had cooked lunch and dinner, too.

Fiyero had come to find her in the kitchen and told her she didn't have to do it – they could go out for dinner, if they wanted to, and Fiyero himself and Boq, too, knew a thing or two about cooking as well, but she had told him she didn't mind. She didn't. She liked to cook almost as much as she liked to read.

All in all, this vacation was turning out to be a lot nicer than she had first anticipated, and she was glad about that.

She was jolted from her thoughts by a knock on the door and a voice calling out. "Elphie?"

Elphaba made a non-committal sound in her throat.

Galinda pushed the bedroom door open a little further. "Are you awake?"

The green girl good-naturedly grumbled something under her breath. "No."

Galinda giggled and entered the room, perching on the edge of Elphaba's bed. "I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about you and Fiyero!"

_That _caught Elphaba's attention. She shot up, eyes wide as she stared at the blonde. "What?!"

"You heard me." Galinda pulled her foot underneath her and gave her roommate a solemn look. "He likes you a lot, Elphie, and I know you like him, too. Don't bother denying it. It's clear as day, really."

Elphaba was speechless.

"Every day since we got here, you've been together," Galinda continued. "You chase after one another, you play games in the water – even when you're reading on your towel, or on the porch, he's there, watching you. It's _so _adorable, but frankly, it's getting a little frustrating. Just _get together already_."

"But…" Elphaba spluttered. "I don't… what do you…" She didn't know what to say. She had no idea what Galinda was even talking about.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Elphie, please don't tell me you 'don't like him that way' or something like that," she grunted.

Elphaba opened her and closed her mouth a few times. Then she looked down.

"No," she admitted softly. "I do."

"You do?" Galinda was startled. "And you actually admit it, too? Oh, Elphie!" she cried out, throwing her arms around her friend and hugging her tightly. "I am so _proud _of you! Now," she said, letting go of the green girl again, "we need a plan. A good plan. To get you and Fiyero together. How about you just go up to him, say, "I know you like me and I like you, too, let's make out", and then you kiss and get together?"

Elphaba just stared at her, slowly raising one eyebrow.

Galinda made a face. "Oh, don't do the eyebrow thing," she shuddered. "I hate it. It looks so creepy."

Elphaba chuckled weakly. "Galinda…"

The pink powder puff let herself fall back onto Elphaba's bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Do you remember the last time we had some girl time like this in our dorm room, Elphie?" she asked with a smile. "When we told each other our greatest secrets?"

"Fiyero and I are going to be married!" Elphaba imitated the blonde in a high-pitched, nasal voice, flapping her arms and making wide eyes for good measure.

Galinda narrowed her eyes at the young witch. "Careful, Miss Thropp, or I'll tell Fiyero _your _current biggest secret."

"Not my biggest," said Elphaba. "My biggest is still the one I already told you."

Galinda suddenly seemed more serious. "Is it true, Elphaba?" she asked. "That your father hates you?"

Elphaba pulled her legs up and hugged her knees to her chest. "Honestly? I don't really know," she said softly. "I know he doesn't love me as much as he does Nessa, but… I don't really think he hates me. I think… I think it's mostly me hating myself," she confessed, looking away.

"Oh, Elphie…" Galinda pulled her into a hug again. "You shouldn't hate yourself – you're amazing!"

"How can I be amazing?" Elphaba asked, a slight catch in her voice. "I killed my own mother, Galinda. I crippled my sister…"

"Elphaba!" Galinda, honestly, was a little shocked – she knew about this, of course, but it scared her a little how deeply Elphaba seemed to believe this. "That's not true and you know it! I told you last time – it was the milkflowers' fault, not yours!" She shook her head. "Don't think like that!"

Elphaba sniffled and the blonde girl leapt to her feet. "I'll go and get you some tissues and a glass of water," she said, moving over to the door and opening it.

Fiyero was standing on the other side.

"Fiyero?!" Galinda cried. Elphaba's head snapped up and her eyes widened when she saw the Vinkun prince. She panicked a little. How long had he been standing out there? Had he heard their conversation? How much of it? Did he know her secret?

Galinda slipped out of the room and closed the door, then narrowed her eyes at the prince. "How long have you been standing there?" she demanded.

He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided her gaze, which told her that he had been standing here far too long already.

"You cannot eavesdrop on people like that!" Galinda snapped, swatting his arm.

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" he protested, trying to avoid the blonde's slaps. "I just wanted to ask Fae something, and then I happened to overhear… well… things."

"Fiyero, that was a private conversation!"

"It's okay, Glin," a soft voice suddenly said behind Galinda, making her jump. When she turned, she saw Elphaba standing in the doorway.

"It can't be helped now, anyway," the green girl continued and Galinda nodded reluctantly.

"That much is true."

Elphaba opened the door wider and gestured for Fiyero to come in. "Get inside. I guess you want to talk now." She said it like she was dreading the prospect of talking more than anything, which, Fiyero thought, was probably true.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," he began, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable; but Elphaba shook her head and gestured for him to come in again. He hesitated for another moment, but then he made a decision and walked past her and into the room.

Elphaba smiled at Galinda. "Thank you, Glin," she said. "For, you know, everything. Being my friend."

Galinda beamed at her and hugged her again. "You're welcome, Elphie!"

"So what was all that about, exactly?" Fiyero asked when Elphaba re-entered the room and closed the door behind her. "Is this what Galinda almost blurted out the other day?"

Elphaba froze. "What?"

"She said something about you and your family and that you think something is your fault," he said, "but then she caught herself and told me it was a secret and she couldn't tell me. Is this what that was about?"

Elphaba slowly lowered herself onto the bed. "Yes."

Fiyero sat down next to her – close enough to offer some comfort, but far enough away so that he wasn't being intrusive. "Will you tell me about it?"

She sighed. "Not really, but I suspect you're going to keep pushing until I do, right?"

He shook his head. "I won't push you if you don't want to talk about it," he said.

She gave him a half-smile. "I appreciate that." She pushed both hands through her thick, black hair. Then she told him about her parents' shock upon seeing her skin when she was born, and about them trying to prevent Nessarose from being born the same way… and about what had happened afterwards.

They kept silent for a long while after that, both of them lost in thought. Elphaba carefully looked to the side, but she didn't see horror on Fiyero's face, or pity. He just looked thoughtful.

"And you believe that's your fault," he stated after a while, meeting her gaze.

She shrugged helplessly. "Isn't it?"

"No. Of course not." He scooted a little closer and took her hand. "Fae… your parents chose to use the milkflowers. They must have known the risks. And you… you didn't choose how you were born. None of us did. You were _three_ _years old _when Nessa was born – how could it have been your fault?"

"I told you," she said, lowering her eyes. "If I hadn't been born…"

"Elphaba," he took her other hand in his as well, "stop thinking like that. It's not your fault, okay? It's not. I'm sure Galinda told you this already, too…"

She smiled a little sadly. "She did. But –"

"No. No 'but'." Before she knew it, he was leaning forward to kiss her forehead. "She was right when she told you that you are amazing, you know."

Elphaba blushed and he let go of her. "I'll leave you alone now so that you can sleep," he said, rising to his feet. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," she said, watching him as he left the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

She thought about what Galinda had said, about her and Fiyero, and she felt more confused than ever.


	4. Day Four

**AN: I love how you're all, "Operation Fiyeraba! (Wrong story, LOL!)" :P.**

**LetWickedNeverDie: Same here! :P I can't do the creepy eyebrow thing, either. How can people lift only one eyebrow?! It's unnatural!**

**Also, stop expecting bad things to happen, all of you. No-one is going to die or get tortured or anything. Not in this story, anyway *sniggers*. You can all relax for now.**

**Check out my blog for some fun facts about the four chapters of this fic that I posted so far - including the 'Fill in the blanks' stories in this chapter, heheh.**

* * *

**Day Four**

"A 'Fill In The Blanks' story." Galinda held up her _OzBeat_ magazine. "Don't tell me you don't know what a 'Fill In The Blanks' story is."

"Um…" Nessa shared a look with Boq, but he looked just as clueless as she was and he shrugged. Nessa looked back at Galinda almost apologetically. "We… don't know what a 'Fill In The Blanks' story is?"

Galinda shook her head in exasperation. "You uncultivated animals!" she declared indignantly, at which Elphaba snorted a laugh.

"I'll show you how it works," said Galinda. "Ooh, this is one about the beach – you'll love it. Here, Nessa, you can help me." She showed the wheelchair-bound girl the story. Nessa frowned slightly as she read it.

_One day, [NAME 1] and [NAME 2] decided to take a trip to the beach. [NAME 1] packed a bag full of [ADJECTIVE] [FOOD] and a big jug of [LIQUID]. [NAME 2] wanted to learn how to [VERB] so they rented a pair of [PLURAL NOUN] and hopped into the water. A lifeguard blew on his [NOUN] because someone was [-ING VERB] too far into the ocean. The sun was [-ING VERB] so [NAME 1] and [NAME 2] rubbed [NOUN] on each other for protection. Eventually the tide came too close and [PAST TENSE VERB] all the [PLURAL NOUN] away from the beach. [NAME 1] and [NAME 2] packed their [NOUN] and went home._

"This doesn't make any sense," Nessa said, puzzled.

Galinda grinned at her. "Just you wait and see." She waved her pencil at Nessa. "Nessa, I need two names. Just random names."

"Boq and Madame Morrible," said Nessa.

Galinda giggled and wrote it down. "Boq, give me an adjective."

"Um… snarky?" he tried and Galinda penned it down again.

"Fiyero, a kind of food?"

"Pie," he said.

"Elphie, a liquid?"

"Milk. Glin, what is this all about?"

"Just wait and see," the blonde said. She continued to ask everyone these questions until she had filled in all the blanks in the story and she cleared her throat. "Ready?"

"I guess," said Boq.

Galinda giggled as she started reading.

"One day, Boq and Madame Morrible decided to take a trip to the beach. Boq packed a bag full of snarky pie and a big jug of milk. Madame Morrible wanted to learn how to skip, so they rented a pair of trees and hopped into the water. A lifeguard blew on his book because someone was sleeping too far into the ocean. The sun was running, so Boq and Madame Morrible rubbed strawberry jam on each other for protection. Eventually the tide came too close and slurped all the couches away from the beach. Boq and Madame Morrible packed their heads and went home."

By the time she was done, she was quite literally rolling over with laughter, as was Fiyero. Nessa was leaning against Boq, giggling madly. Even Elphaba found herself grinning.

"Now _that_," Galinda giggled, "is a 'Fill In The Blanks' story. I used to do this with Momsie all the time when we went on a holiday. We'd bring piles of magazines and have loads of fun!"

"Okay," Elphaba admitted, still chortling, "this is pretty funny."

Galinda beamed at her. "Let's do another one. Elphie, I'm going to tell your fortune. First I need a noun and a place in Oz."

She penned down everything Elphaba, Fiyero, Boq, and Nessarose came up with until she could tell Elphaba's 'future'.

"Okay, here we go," she said, already giggling again.

"Tomorrow, a handsome table will come your way and ask you to come with it to Munchkinland and dance with it there. Don't fall for its disgusting nature or you will turn into a goat."

Boq snorted a laugh.

"Be careful not to touch any shoes this week," Galinda went on, eyes dancing with glee. "They are bad luck."

"Bare feet all week," Elphaba deadpanned. "Noted."

"If you find yourself losing a hair, go find Galinda. She will most likely have eaten it. Ew! Elphie, that is gross!"

Nessa was shaking with uncontrollable laughter.

"The Wizard will declare his undying love for you," Galinda continued, giggling madly once again, "but you will turn him away because you prefer Pfannee." She shrieked with laughter. "You and Pfannee roll off into the sunset together and live creepily ever after. The end!"

Elphaba fell against Fiyero, laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. The prince patted her head, grinning widely. "Hey, Fae, I didn't know you had a thing for Pfannee, but I'm glad you can live creepily ever after together."

"I would have picked the Wizard," Boq guffawed. Nessa giggled.

They spent most of the afternoon on the beach like that, taking silly tests from Galinda's magazine – apparently, Nessa's ideal boyfriend was Avaric and Fiyero's least attractive body part was his right leg – and filling in blanks for more stories. They made one about Galinda going camping and then Galinda found one that was supposed to be a love story, which she made about Elphaba and Fiyero.

""Come here, honey-bunny-cupcake," Fiyero giggled, and Elphaba crawled onto his head and bit his nose," Galinda read aloud. "Fiyero jumped onto Elphaba's closet and sang like a beast. Romantically, he screeched into Elphaba's ear, "Your foot smells like Morrible." She blushed and thanked him for that wonderful compliment."

They all howled with laughter.

Eventually, they went inside to have lunch together, after which Nessarose and Galinda decided to go to the village nearby to shop. They begged Elphaba to join them, but the dark-haired witch firmly refused.

"I," she said, "am going to take a book, sit down on that rocking bench on the porch, and not leave that spot all day long."

"I'll come with you girls," Boq offered kindly. "You'll need an escort, and I don't mind seeing Nessa in pretty dresses." He smiled at the girl in the wheelchair, and she blushed and smiled back at him.

Elphaba was glad to see them going so well. She had been worried about the Munchkin's intentions at first; but in the ten months he and Nessa had been together, he had proven that he truly did care for Elphaba's sister. He helped Nessa with everything and sometimes Elphaba caught him staring at the younger girl with a look in his eyes that could only be love. She was happy for Nessa.

"Are you coming, too, Fiyero?" asked Galinda, but the prince shook his head.

"Nah," he said. "I hate dresses. And shopping. And stores. I'll just stay here and keep Fae company."

"You really don't have to do that," Elphaba protested, but he just flashed her a grin.

"I want to."

Galinda caught his eye and wiggled her eyebrows at him meaningfully. Fiyero stuck out his tongue at the blonde – behind Elphaba's back, of course.

Galinda, Nessarose, and Boq left, and Elphaba curled up on the rocking bench with a book. They didn't have a rocking bench or anything like it back home in Munchkinland, even though they had a rather nice porch; and for some reason, Elphaba really liked it. She could just sit on it and read for hours, gently pushing herself back and forth with one foot against the balustrade.

Fiyero spent the first hour clearing the table and doing the dishes, after which he padded around the house, doing Oz-knew-what – Elphaba suspected he was just trying to let her read in peace. After a while, though, he came out onto the porch as well, clearly bored. He stood there staring across the lake for a few moments before joining her on the rocking bench.

He tried to read the title of her book. "What are you reading?"

"A dirty love story," she said.

The look on his face was rather priceless before he realised that she was joking. "Ha, ha." He playfully nudged her leg with his foot. "No, seriously, what are you reading?"

"Just a book," she replied vaguely.

He pulled it from her hands and stared at it for a few moments as the title got through to him. "Really?" He gave her an incredulous look. "You're reading a book about Ozian politics?"

She shrugged. "I find that interesting," she said defensively. "If I'm hoping to work for the Wizard one day, I need to know all the ins and outs of Ozian politics. All the laws, all the rules. Every province. And not just Ozian politics, either – I also brought a book on the politics of Oz's neighbouring countries – Ix, Fliaan, Quox – and one on economics…"

"Did you bring any _fun_ books?" Fiyero demanded.

"Of course. It's not like I _only_ ever read informative books." She tilted her head a little to the side. "I read adventure stories, thrillers, even romance novels. Occasionally," she added when she saw a grin lighting up his face.

"Romance stories? Really?" He chuckled. "I hadn't taken you for the romance type," he teased her.

She looked down at her hands resting in her lap. "Just because I'll never be part of my own romance story, doesn't mean I don't like to read about them," she said, trying to sound snappy, but it just came out small and kind of pathetic.

He frowned. "What? Why wouldn't you have your own romance story?" She could almost see the realisation dawning in his eyes. "Is this about your skin?"

"Partly," she admitted. "There's just nothing to love about me, Fiyero. I'm not attractive. I'm not sociable or outgoing. I'm not even nice."

"Of course you are. It just… takes you some time to open up." He put his arm around the back of the rocking bench, not quite touching her. "And that's okay, you know. Because once someone takes the time to get to know you, they will be able to see how wonderful you are. Once you open up, you _are _sweet, and caring, and even sociable. You're smart and funny, and how in Oz can you think you're not attractive? Just because you're green?"

"Well, it is kind of hard to look past that," she retorted sarcastically but he just shook his head, unfazed.

"You don't have to look past it," he said. "You just have to step out of the conservative ideas of beauty and look at things another way. You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, Elphaba. I mean that."

Feeling her cheeks heat up, she abruptly rose to her feet and shook her head in front of her face to hide her blush. "I'm going to start making dinner," she muttered. "The others will be back soon."

She started making her way to the door, then realised she was being rude and couldn't just leave him there like that. Not after he had been so sweet to her. "Fiyero?"

"Hmm?"

She took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Then she fled inside.


	5. Day Five

**AN: So you all seemed to agree that "Your foot smells like Morrible" was the funniest line in the previous chapter :P. I must say that my personal favourite was "Fiyero jumped onto Elphaba's closet and sang like a beast". Maybe because I think in images. Heheh.**

**PerlogAnnwyl: That was epic. XD**

**BlueD: The site censors the link :( can you try again with spaces and such in between?**

**Thedoctor24601: I AM NEVER GOING TO GIVE UP ON PIE.**

**Honestly, though - pie is not that bad. Why are you all so traumatised by it? People all over the world eat pie every day. In both senses of the word. *smirks***

**Speaking of which... this chapter contains pie. And not the food kind. It's nothing profuse or M-rated, but I thought I'd give you a heads-up.**

* * *

**Day Five**

Fiyero took the others to the market the next day – a Saturday – to show them around. It didn't take him long to find the man his parents had always bought their wine from.

Fiyero greeted him and the man stared at the prince for a few moments before his face broke into a smile.

"Little Prince Fiyero Tiggular of the Vinkus!" he said enthusiastically. "Who is not so little anymore now," he added, taking Fiyero in. "Oz, have you grown! I can still remember you, fourteen years old, begging your parents and me for a sip of wine…"

Fiyero grinned at him. "I'm surprised you even remember me," he said. "I don't have to beg you for wine anymore now, though – I'm twenty-three. It's completely legal."

The man laughed. "So it is! And who are your friends?" he asked, still smiling. He did not seem at all shocked by Elphaba's skin and she took an instant liking to the man.

Fiyero introduced everyone and when he told the man that none of them had ever had any Vinkun wine, the man insisted they try it instantly, pouring them all a generous cup of spicy Vinkun wine.

Elphaba eyed Fiyero suspiciously. "What are you looking all excited about?" she demanded.

He grinned at her. "I just can't wait to see your faces when you try it," he said and he and the man both laughed.

Boq was the first to take a sip, tasting it thoughtfully.

"This is good," he declared. "This is _really _good. Oz, I have to buy ten bottles to take home to Munchkinland!"

Elphaba tried it, too, and she discovered that Boq was right. She didn't care much for wine, but this was the most delicious wine she had ever tasted.

"Okay, I wouldn't mind having more of this," she admitted and Fiyero beamed at her.

The man urged them all to sit down at one of the two tables accompanying his stall as he went to pour them more cups of all different kinds of Vinkun wine, having them try out everything he had. Dusk settled in and a band began to play on the square where the market was held as the friends talked and laughed and drank, probably more than was good for them.

The music was good and at some point, Fiyero leapt to his feet and started singing along, pretending to play a guitar. Galinda and Nessa were doubling over with laughter and Boq joined the prince, playing the invisible drums. Fiyero suddenly swept Elphaba off her chair and pulled her into a dance, which she would normally have objected to – fiercely – but the wine made her not mind so much. They danced and sang and laughed all evening long.

It was well past midnight when they returned to the beach house, all of them decidedly tipsy. Nessarose and Galinda both couldn't stop giggling and Fiyero was still singing loudly. Boq, being the most sober of them all, kept quiet and made sure none of them fell over.

Elphaba herself was feeling light-headed, too. _Very_ light-headed. She found herself grinning all the time, which was very unlike her, and she had a queasy feeling in her stomach and a weird feeling overall, like she was under water or something.

She had never had so much alcohol before. She wouldn't have, either, if she'd known that Vinkun wine was so strong; but no-one had told her and it had tasted so good, she had just tried everything the man had given them and she had only realised she'd had a little too much when it was already too late. She was glad Boq, at least, had had only three small cups, so that there was at least one of them still fully aware of everything around them. She herself certainly didn't feel alert.

"Come on, guys," Galinda said with a skip and a giggle once they reached the beach house. "Let's go inside. I'm cold!" She hugged herself and shivered violently to illustrate her point.

"You go on ahead," said Elphaba, turning to look out across the lake. "I think I'm going to stay out here for a little while longer. Clear my head, you know." She was still feeling a bit fuzzy – okay, extremely fuzzy – from the wine, and she hoped some fresh air would help. Or… some _more _fresh air. Whatever.

"Alright." Galinda kissed her friend on the cheek with a loud smack. "'Night, Elphie."

"Goodnight." Elphaba watched as the blonde danced into the house, closely followed by a giggling Nessa and by Boq, who was shaking his head as he manoeuvred Nessa's chair onto the porch.

Elphaba sat down in the sand and closed her eyes for a moment, only to open them again when Fiyero let himself fall down in the sand beside her.

"Hey," he said, more serious than he had been all day. "Are you okay?"

She smiled at him, though it was a little shaky. "I'm fine. Just wobbly. And dizzy. And…yeah."

He chuckled. "I know what you mean."

"Of course you do," she said, thinking of the Fiyero she had gotten to know when he had first come to Shiz.

He smiled.

They sat in silence for a while. Elphaba had her eyes closed again and was breathing through her nose, but she wasn't feeling any better – her body felt heavy and her head even heavier.

She swayed a little, losing her balance, and Fiyero caught her with an arm around her waist. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah." She yawned. "Just not used to alcohol, I guess."

He smiled again and she dropped her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes again. "You smell nice," she murmured, turning her head to bury her nose in his neck. "Fiyero? Galinda says you like me."

"I do," he said, trying to make his voice sound as normal as possible, even though he felt like he was on fire, with her lips brushing against his neck like this.

"But she says you like me, you know, _that _way."

"I do," he said again. "I told you, but you didn't believe me."

Her eyes opened again and she raised her head to look at him. "You meant that?" she asked incredulously. "All of that?"

He nodded.

"Oh." She was quiet for a few more moments.

Then she suddenly leant forward and pressed her lips against his.

He was so startled, he didn't even respond at first; but then he kissed her back. Of course he did. Even if it was mostly the alcohol that was causing this, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to kiss her.

When she pulled away, however, she didn't seem that affected by the wine at all. Her eyes were clear and bright and she seemed to be knowing what she was doing.

And so he kissed her again, holding her close as he felt her relax in his arms, and he deepened the kiss. She moaned softly and wound her arms around his neck. "Yero…"

He shouldn't be doing this. He knew he shouldn't. Even if she seemed sober, she wasn't – not entirely, anyway – and he didn't want her to do anything she might regret later.

But he had longed to kiss her for so long already, and the feeling of having her in his arms and her lips on his was something he simply couldn't get enough of.

"Fae?" he whispered, slowly lowering her into the sand.

She made a soft, satisfied sound in her throat that made him smile. He leant down and captured her lips with his own again, running his fingers through her beautiful long hair as he felt her melting into the kiss.

They broke apart, both of them gasping a little.

"I know you don't believe me," Fiyero breathed, resting his forehead against hers and looking into her eyes, "but I am hopelessly, completely, wonderfully, desperately, head-over-heels in love with you."

She gazed up at him, her eyes dark and unreadable. "Fiyero?"

"Yes?" he whispered.

"I'm in love with you, too." It slipped out before she could help herself.

Now that she thought about it, though, she wasn't sure she _wanted _to help herself. His kisses were making her feel dizzy and fuzzy in the head – much like the wine had before, only in a much more pleasant way.

And she _was _in love with him. She'd known that for a long time already; she just hadn't wanted to admit it, not even to herself. And of course she hadn't believed that he could ever feel the same way about her. But here he was, declaring his love for her, and the wine was getting to her head and making her do and say things she wouldn't normally do… and she actually kind of liked it.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, deeply. He buried his fingers in her hair. An annoying voice in the back of his head kept nagging him not to do this, to wait until they were both sober, that he was going to regret this; but he pushed it away and focussed on the feel of Elphaba's soft, warm weight against him. He started working on the buttons of her dress and she helped him pull his shirt over his head, revealing the diamonds on his chest once more.

She tore herself away from his lips to trace the diamond shapes with her fingers, smiling when she felt him shiver. She leant forward and traced one with her lips, which was followed by a sharp intake of breath from him.

"Fae…" he whispered, pulling away to look at her. "Are you sure?"

She rolled her eyes and kissed him again, hooking her leg around his hip.

_Think about this, Fiyero!_ that voice in the back of his head screamed at him. _Are you really going to take her virginity outside, on a beach, with both of you under the influence of alcohol?!_

He started to pull away, but then she started pulling at his trousers and he gasped. "Fae…"

She made another of those little noises in her throat. He had never heard her do it before, but it drove him crazy.

She unbuckled his belt and he pulled away again. "Elphaba, stop."

"What?" She blinked at him, the fog clearing slightly from her eyes. She frowned. "Why?"

"Just…" He sat up and pushed his fingers through his hair, trying to regain control over his breathing.

When he looked at her again, she was staring down, her fingers playing with the sand and her shoulders slumped.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, more to the sand than to him. "I shouldn't have assumed that… I mean, of course you wouldn't want…"

"Whoa. Wait." He held up both hands. "You think I don't want you? Are you crazy? No! That's not what this is about!"

Uncertainty still sparked in her eyes when she looked up. "It's not?"

He groaned. "Oz, Elphaba. Do you have any idea at all of what you're doing to me?"

She tilted her head a little to the side, clearly clueless. That only made her look more adorable and he had to look away to keep himself in check.

"I just…" His voice sounded so low and throaty, it made him wince. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I just want to make sure that you want this, too. And not because of the wine. Maybe we should wait and…"

He stopped when she wrapped her arms around his neck again and started kissing his jaw.

"And…" He tried to finish what he had been saying, but he couldn't really remember what that was anymore.

She slid the straps of her dress down her arms.

He gulped. "Fae…"

She kissed him softly. "Yero…" The fact that her voice was just as breathless as his own did nothing to clear his head. He still tried, though.

"Fae, are you _absolutely _sure that –"

"Shut _up_, Fiyero." She kissed him again, harder this time, and pressed herself closer against him until finally, his resolve broke and he gave in.

* * *

**Probably no update tomorrow, since I'll be travelling all day - we're going home... but maybe if I still have some energy left tomorrow night I'll give you a _Dances with princes _update.**

**So this was my final message from Portugal. Next time I talk to you, it will be from the Netherlands again!**


	6. Day Six

**AN: Maybe the most logical thing would be for Elphaba to freak out and run off right now, but I thought that was so cliché... so I did something else. Heheh.**

**It's funny that you seemed more shocked at the 'pie scene' in the previous chapter than at me killing off and/or torturing characters in other stories :'). ****Your reactions kind of reminded me of something George Martin, the author of _Game of Thrones_, once said:**

**"I can describe an axe entering a human skull in great explicit detail and no one will blink twice at it. I provide a similar description, just as detailed, of a penis entering a vagina, and I get letters about it and people swearing off. (...)"**

**Kind of crazy, actually, if you think about it...**

**Anyways, no pie in this chapter, don't worry :P and no more pie in the rest of this story, either... I think. Not sure yet.**

* * *

**Day Six**

When Boq stepped outside in the morning, he was feeling exhausted.

He had been up most of the night, and he was completely done. Galinda, even though she had claimed to be so tired, had been wandering around the house all night, singing and dancing through the hallways; and every time Boq had tried to get her to go back to her bedroom, she'd giggled and treated it like a game of tag, running away from him. He had been chasing her through the house half the night.

When he hadn't been chasing Galinda, he had been comforting Nessa, who had grown extremely nauseous around three in the morning and started throwing up. She'd only stopped and fallen asleep – finally – about an hour ago. Boq swore to himself that he was _never _going to let either of those girls have a glass of Vinkun wine _ever _again.

He was glad he wasn't hungover himself, but he still felt terrible because of his lack of sleep. He was cranky, tired, and pissed, and all he wanted was to get into his bed and _sleep _right now.

Only then he realised he couldn't.

He hadn't even thought of Fiyero and Elphaba until now, he'd been so busy taking care of the other two. Realising he had never seen or heard either of them entering the house, he had gone upstairs to check up on them, only to realise their rooms were empty and their beds hadn't been slept in.

And so poor, exhausted Boq had returned downstairs, pulled on a pair of shoes, and, sighing, gone outside to look for his friends…

…only to find them on the beach, a short distance away from the house, both fast asleep.

They were both covered, but the fact that Fiyero's shirt was now on Elphaba and their shoes, as well as Elphaba's dress, were lying discarded a metre or so away from them, clearly told Boq what had happened.

Too tired now to bother with subtlety, he cleared his throat and said loudly, "Well, _this _is awkward."

Fiyero shot up at the sound of the Munchkin's voice, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. "Boq, what in _Oz_…"

He fell silent when he realised what position the other boy had found them in and his face flushed. "Oh."

"Yes," said Boq, gritting his teeth. "_Oh_."

Fiyero cleared his throat. "Um… it's not what you think?" he tried.

Boq raised an eyebrow. "So you and Elphaba did _not _have sex?"

Fiyero looked down at the young witch curled up against his side, dressed in his shirt, and then he looked sheepishly back at Boq. "Okay, so maybe it is what you think," he muttered.

"So you and Elphaba _did _have sex," Boq concluded.

Fiyero glared at him again.

"Spare me the looks," Boq snapped. "I was up all night bringing Nessa glasses of water and wet pieces of cloth and holding back her hair as she threw up, not to mention chasing Galinda through the entire house; and then when I finally thought I could get some rest, I found out that you two were gone. We're all used to _you _being irresponsible, but I can't believe you dragged the others into this as well. None of them are used to alcohol. You should have warned them about the wine."

"I did say it was strong!" Fiyero protested. "But they all liked it, and I thought… I just thought we could have some fun, you know? That's all…"

"Fun?!" Boq snorted. "Nessa is feeling terrible, not to mention the fact that Elphaba is going to _kill _you when she wakes up. You do realise that, right? For Oz's sake, Fiyero – Nessa told me once that her sister has never even been _kissed_ before, and now you went and did… _this_," he gestured towards the green girl, "when she wasn't even fully aware of what she was doing? You took advantage of her!"

"I…" Fiyero faltered when he realised that the Munchkin was right, and a wave of horror washed over him. "I never meant…"

"Well, you did," Boq said angrily. "And she's never going to forgive you for this." He turned around. "If you'll excuse me now, I'm going to see if my girlfriend needs some more vomit to be cleaned up. Well done, Fiyero. Really. Well done." With that, he stalked off.

Fiyero looked back at Elphaba with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Boq was right – he _had _taken advantage of her. She would never have done this if she had been sober. She would probably indeed never forgive him, and she'd be right, too.

He smoothed her hair away from her forehead, suddenly wanting to cry – which, of course, he didn't. He was a man, after all. But that didn't mean he didn't feel like doing it.

"I'm so sorry, Fae," he whispered.

She murmured his name in her sleep and he leant forward to kiss her forehead softly. When she still didn't wake up, he rose to his feet, collected his shoes, and fled, like the coward and the idiot he was, just so that he wouldn't have to face Elphaba when she would wake up.

He knew that he would have to, of course, eventually; but he'd like to postpone that moment as long as he could. She was going to be furious with him. Absolutely furious. And she'd be right, too. He'd seen her magical powers flying out of control over less – she might even lose control over them again. Or maybe she'd slap him. Or just ignore him. For the rest of his life.

He was never going to get together with her now.

Miserable, he returned to the house and went to take a shower, but he didn't feel any cleaner afterwards. He felt like a disgusting piece of filth for using her the way he had. He should run away and never come back. He should go outside and drown himself in the lake.

He didn't, of course. Instead, he walked off, following the coast line. He walked through the sand until his legs started to hurt, and then he fell down into the sand and stared off across the lake for hours without really seeing anything.

He couldn't go back. Could he? No, he couldn't. He couldn't face her. Not now, not ever. He wanted to remember her the way she had looked last night – eyes sparkling, skin glowing. The way she had looked when she had kissed him and he had kissed her back. Last night, when he had still believed he had a chance with her. That maybe now, she finally would believe him, and she would want to be his girlfriend.

Oh, Oz, last night…

He leapt to his feet, grabbed a rock and threw it into the water out of pure frustration. He tangled his fingers in his hair and screamed. He kicked against a larger rock, then started cursing because he had gone walking bare-footed and now his big toe was swelling up.

And then he cried, because even though he was a man and men did not cry, it didn't matter anymore. No-one could see him here, anyway. And even if they could, what did it matter? Maybe he just wasn't a man. He never had been. A man would never have taken advantage of a girl the way he had of Elphaba.

He thought of going back, but he really didn't think he could. Not yet. Not now. Not after last night. He paced up and down the beach for a while, trying to come up with a way to apologise to Elphaba without her ripping his head off. He didn't realise what time it was until dusk started settling in and he became aware of the fact that he had been gone all day. Evening fell, the sun set, and he still didn't move from his spot on the beach.

He was hungry, thirsty, and cold, but he still felt too ashamed of himself to go back… that, and frankly he was also a little scared of what Elphaba might do to him. He spent most of the night worrying over what might happen. At some point, he fell asleep in the now-cold sand and he dreamt of Elphaba. He dreamt of her yelling at him and hexing him. He dreamt of her crying in her room over what he had done to her. He even dreamt of her being gone when he returned, unable to face him ever again and upset to the point where she'd rather go home than see him once more.

He awoke with his heart pounding in his chest, even more cold, hungry, and miserable than before, and he finally made a decision.

He was upset, but so was she, probably; and he didn't want her to leave before he had apologised to her. If anyone had to leave, it was him, not her. She hadn't done anything wrong. He had. Somehow, he had to do everything he could to make it right for her… or if not right, than at least a little less bad than it was now.

He looked up. It was still dark, but there was a faint light glowing in the east, signifying the sun rising. It must be about five in the morning. He'd been gone all night.

He was being selfish, staying out and not thinking about the others – mostly Elphaba, but the other three as well. It wasn't fair of him to leave them like this.

He rose to his feet, brushed the sand off his clothes, and slowly started walking back to the beach house.


	7. Day Seven

**AN: Another update, because Xanne-Li asked me so nicely :P.**

**Thedoctor24601: That made me laugh so hard. Out loud.**

**I could have done many mean things with this, but I promise this one would be happy, light, and summer-y, so I didn't. (This is where you chorus, "Oh, you really didn't have to do that!" and I just wave you away like, "I know! That's what makes me so nice!" only I'd add in a cackle for good measure because I am, after all, still the Queen of Cliffies.)**

**So I'm seeing Sister Act NL tomorrow, which is both EPIC (because I love it so much and I'll be in the first row!) and sad (because it's the final time I'll ever see it, it closes this Sunday ;_;).**

* * *

**Day Seven**

Fiyero had expected – and hoped – to find the house dark, with everyone asleep; but when he approached it, he could distinguish Elphaba sitting on the rocking bench on the porch.

When she caught sight of him, she jumped to her feet and leapt down the few steps to the beach.

"For Oz's sake, Fiyero!" she yelled and he winced, bracing himself; but instead of tackling him or slapping him, like he had expected, she threw her arms around him.

"Where have you _been_?!" she demanded in a high voice. "We were worried sick about you! We thought something had happened, or… or… I don't know! Where did you go? And why have you been out all night?"

He stared at her, not really comprehending. She was upset, that much was clear, but she didn't seem mad. Just worried.

"You…" he began, dazed. "I mean… I… we… what happened…"

She let go of him and wrapped her arms around her own waist instead, stepping back. "So it _was _because of last night," she concluded softly.

"Yes." He sighed. "Fae…"

"It's okay, Fiyero. I get it." She shook her head. "You were drunk and you made a mistake. It's fine. I'm not going to kill you over it. It was my own fault just as much as yours. Let's just pretend it never happened and go back to being friends, okay?"

"What?" He blinked at her. "You're… you're not mad?"

She sighed. "Of course I'm not mad. I was there, you know. I would have stopped you if I hadn't wanted… well, _that_."

"Wait." Only now did he realise what she had been saying before. "You think it was a mistake?"

"I think that _you _think it was a mistake," she corrected him. "And that's fine, Fiyero –"

"But _you _don't think it was a mistake?"

She took a deep breath and avoided his gaze. "Honestly?" She looked down. "Not really."

"Even though we were both drunk and it was outside on a beach?"

She shook her head.

Fiyero all but gaped at her. He felt like kicking himself. He had been away all day and all night, ashamed and worried and feeling guilty… for nothing. She wasn't mad at him. Not over that, anyway.

"B-but…" He shook his head. "I took advantage of you!"

"What?!" Now she gave him a look that clearly told him that she thought he was crazy. "Fiyero, like I said – I was _there_. Okay, maybe I was a little tipsy… or _very _tipsy… but I wasn't so drunk that I didn't know what I was doing anymore. If I hadn't wanted it, I'd have pushed you away. Or kicked you in the groin. Or hexed you. I'm not some frail little doll that is completely helpless against a man, you know. Trust me – I could take you."

She turned to sit back down on the rocking bench on the porch, and Fiyero sat down beside her.

She looked at him. "So what exactly is going on here?" she asked.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling stupid.

"When I woke up," he began, "Boq was there."

He told her everything that had happened since he had awakened that morning – everything Boq had said to him and everything he had been worried about afterwards, and why he hadn't wanted to come home.

When he finished, she just sat there for a while, looking thoughtful.

Then she stomped his arm.

"Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot. "What was that for?!"

"For you being the biggest idiot alive," she snapped. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I woke up and you were gone? I thought…" She trailed off and shook her head, not finishing that sentence. "And then I went inside and Nessa and Glin told me they hadn't seen you at all. We went to look for you, but we couldn't find you anywhere. When Boq woke up and we told him you were gone, he just went pale and said that was his fault, but he refused to tell us what that was about. We've been looking for you all day long. At first I thought it was just you doing your regular thing, you know – sleeping with a girl and then taking off…" She tried to make light of it, but he could see in her eyes how much that thought had hurt her.

"But then when I realised you were really gone… you wouldn't believe the things we thought could have happened to you. And Galinda didn't exactly help, with her stories about sharks and strong currents in the lake. Neither did Nessa, for that matter – she started rambling about robbers and murderers. Eventually we decided that if you weren't back by morning, we'd go to the police station in the village." She hugged herself again. "The others went to sleep and I tried to sleep, too, but I couldn't. I couldn't help but feel that if something really had happened to you, it would be my fault…"

Much to his shock, he realised that she was crying now. "How would that have been your fault?" he demanded, stunned. "You didn't do anything wrong!"

"Because bad things always happen to the people I love!" she shouted at him. Then she clamped both hands over her mouth in horror, as if she could take her words back that way.

He stared at her again in wonder. "You… you love me?"

She looked away.

He cupped her face with his hand and turned it back so that she would look at him.

"Fae… I love you, too," he told her.

She choked on a sound that was something between a sob and an incredulous laugh. "You do?"

He nodded. "The only reason I left, Elphaba, was because I thought… I thought you'd hate me. I mean… Boq was right in everything he said. It's true that you didn't have any experience with boys whatsoever and that you would never have done such a thing if you had been completely sober. I… I felt like I had used you."

She fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "I can't believe you attached so much value to something a frustrated Munchkin said after a night of chasing Galinda and cleaning up vomit. He was just pissed, you know. He felt guilty when he found out that you were gone. He said he had said some things to you that he shouldn't have."

"But he was right," Fiyero said, confused.

"Of course he wasn't right." Elphaba shook her head. "And even if he had been right, you should have talked to me about it first, instead of running off and giving us all heart attacks."

"You're right." He felt even more ashamed of himself now than he had before. "I'm sorry."

She carefully looked to the side. "So… you don't regret it?" she asked him hesitantly.

He shook his head. "If you don't, then I don't, either," he said.

"And it also wasn't like… like before?"

He grimaced. "Fae… I'm not that guy anymore. I'm really not. And I've done many things in the past that I'm not proud of, but I would _never _do that to you. Ever. I'm in love with you."

She smiled faintly, but she still seemed worried. "And now what?"

"Now I apologise again for listening to Boq and jumping to conclusions, and for worrying you – all of you, but especially you," he said, taking her hands in his. "And then I'm going to ask you if you would like to be my girlfriend."

She blushed. "Really?"

He nodded and her blush deepened.

"I'd… like that very much," she said shyly.

He grinned goofily. "Really?"

She chuckled. "Yeah. Really."

He cupped her face and kissed her softly on the lips. She kissed him back, leaning into him a little bit more, and he deepened the kiss; but when she wrapped her arms around him, she suddenly pulled away, scowling at him.

"Fiyero, you're freezing," she scolded him. "You should have told me that you were cold – we could have talked inside. You're like an icicle."

"It's summer, I'm not that cold," he protested, but she shook her head.

"You've been out on a beach all night long," she reminded him. "And your skin is like ice. Come on." She took his arm and tugged at it until he rose to his feet and followed her inside. She pushed him up to his own room and pressed a sweater into his hands before going downstairs to make him a steaming hot cup of coffee, which she brought up to him.

"Thanks," he said gratefully, sipping the warm liquid. "I'm feeling better already, really."

She looked out of the window. The sun was just rising in the east. She had no idea what time it was, but she was exhausted – she had been up worrying about Fiyero all night long. "I think I'll go and get some sleep," she said.

Fiyero nodded. "Good idea." He scooted over and patted the bed beside him.

She lifted one eyebrow.

He did, too.

She raised the other one as well.

He cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

"You want me to sleep _here_?" she demanded. "In your room?"

He shrugged. "Well, yes, why not?" he asked her reasonably. "It's not like we haven't slept together before."

She flushed, the colour of her face actually approaching that of a tomato, which he found fascinating. It was pretty logical that she'd blush red, rather than a darker green – she had red blood, after all, like any other person – but it was remarkable how red her green skin could become.

He grinned at her. "Just come here, Fae."

She sighed, but complied, sitting down on the bed beside him. He put his empty mug away and pulled her down with him, wrapping his arms around her and dragging the blankets up around them both.

She squirmed. "Fiyero –"

"Lie still," he murmured. "I'm cold. You're warm. You're like a living hot water pitch. You don't want me to get cold again, do you?"

She scowled at him. "Stop guilt-tripping me –"

He cut her off by capturing her lips with his own. She melted immediately, giving in, and he pulled her tighter against him and buried his face in her neck, sighing happily. "'Night, Fae."

She nuzzled his hand, pressing a kiss to his palm. "Goodnight, Yero."


	8. Day Eight

**AN: My first response when I saw my messed-up review page was a murderous, "MUSICGAL!", but it was PocketSevens (sorry, Elizabeth! xD). Sorry, though, you still didn't break her record. Just check out your review, then hers, and you'll see why :P. (And that was not even near her longest review...)**

**Fae'sFlower (love your new username): Thanks for all the pie!**

**PerlogAnnwyl: Yeah, me too :3.**

* * *

**Day Eight**

The first thing Boq did when he saw Fiyero the next morning was apologise for everything he had said to the prince the day before.

"I wasn't thinking," the Munchkin admitted. "I was just mad at you for getting drunk and spending all night out with Elphaba while I had to clean up after and take care of you all, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Fiyero apologised. "I mean, I shouldn't have run off like that. I worried all of you for no real reason."

Galinda just squealed and threw her arms around him, crying out that she was so happy he hadn't been murdered or eaten by sharks. Nessa was glad he was back, too, though she didn't like what Boq had told her about the couple.

"I can't say I approve," she said, frowning slightly. "Elphaba, I would have thought you more sensible than this. Fornicating on a beach in the middle of the night? Really?"

Elphaba already opened her mouth to defend herself, but then Galinda choked on her drink with laughter because Nessa had actually used the word 'fornicating', which in turn made Fiyero grin as well; and before they knew it, they were all laughing and Nessa didn't mention it again.

"So how was it, Elphie?" Galinda asked curiously that night, when she was sitting at the end of Elphaba's bed. She watched her friend brushing out her long, raven hair, noticing that Elphaba's face became a few shades darker and that she was avoiding Galinda's eyes.

The blonde squealed. "It was nice, wasn't it?"

"It was," Elphaba admitted, still not looking at her friend.

Galinda bounced a little. "Did it hurt? Was it awkward? Was he being sweet and gentle, or was it rushed and passionate?" She puckered her lips and made kissing noises. "Ooh, I can't believe I can actually get this kind of information first-hand now! I mean, Pfannee and Shenshen always boast that they've already done it a million times, but everyone knows they're both still virgins. They're too scared to do anything. And the girl magazines just don't _cover _it, you know? So, Elphie? Tell me – what was it like? Exactly? I want details."

Elphaba spluttered. "Details?!"

Galinda nodded earnestly. "Like… who was on top? Did you talk during it, or before, or after? What did he say, what did you say? How many times did you do it? Is Fiyero big?"

"_Galinda_!" Elphaba cried, mortified.

The blonde waved a manicured hand. "Okay, forget that last question. But you've got to answer everything else," she said sternly.

Elphaba sighed. She really didn't want to talk about this, but she knew that Galinda wouldn't let it go if she didn't, so she took a deep breath. Then she rattled off, "It did hurt, it wasn't awkward, Fiyero was very sweet, it's none of your business who was on top or who said what, and we only did it once."

Galinda raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe twice," Elphaba muttered, looking down.

Galinda squealed again. "Oh, Elphie!" she gushed. Then her expression twisted into one of concern. "Did it really hurt?" she asked. "I mean, they always say it does, but…"

"It does." Galinda caught the faint grimace crossing her friend's face. "It really does."

The blonde moved to sit next to Elphaba and put her arm around the green girl. "Are you okay?"

Elphaba flashed her a small smile. "I'm fine, Glin. Really. It's only normal that it hurts the first time. The second time was a lot better already."

She let out a soft laugh. "And Fiyero… you should have seen him – I tried to hide from him how much it hurt, but of course he saw right through that. He was so worried, he kept asking if I was okay and if I was sure that I really wanted this… he was so sweet, Glin. I think…" She fidgeted with the hem of her dress and chuckled, sounding incredulous. "I think I really do love him."

Galinda smiled softly. "Aw, Elphie… that's so sweet."

"And I think…" Elphaba shook her head. "Oz, I can't believe I'm really saying this… I think he might love me, too."

She abruptly rose to her feet and started pacing. "This is crazy. I must be wrong. Glin… how is that even possible? Just… look at us. He's amazing and I'm an abomination. He's the handsomest man in Oz and I'm the ugliest person in existence. He's a prince and I'm an artichoke." She shook her head. "It can't be."

"And yet it is," said Galinda simply. "Because you'd have to be blind not to see how much he loves you, Elphie. And you're not an abomination. You're not. Nor are you ugly." She rose, too, and took her friend's hands in her own. "You're wonderful," she said, looking up at Elphaba, "and I'm proud to call you my friend."

Elphaba gave her a watery smile and Galinda hugged her. "I'll leave you alone now," she said. She giggled and teased, "Unless you want me to send Fiyero in…"

Elphaba threw a pillow at her, both of them laughing.

Galinda became serious again. "I'm kind of glad this happened," she said. "At least you stopped dancing around one another. It was starting to get annoying."

Elphaba raised one eyebrow.

Galinda hesitated in the doorway. "Elphie?"

"Hmm?"

She took a breath. "Can I ask you something?"

Sensing that this was about something serious, Elphaba nodded and said, "Of course. Is something wrong?"

"No." Galinda shook her head. "It's just… I know that I was teasing you before, about giving me details, and such… but there's one thing I'd like to know and I hope you won't think of it as too personal…"

"How about you just ask," Elphaba suggested drily, "and if I think it's too personal, I throw a pillow in your face?"

Galinda giggled. "That works. Okay." She looked at her friend. "I always read in those magazines about these things," she said. "And they say a lot of things about protection, and such… but how does that really work? I never really understand. Those magazines never describe it in too much detail and like I said, Pfannee and Shenshen don't have any real experience. I tried to ask my nanny once, when I was younger, but she got all awkward and said I'd have to ask Momsie about that, but I never… Elphie?" she cut herself off, concerned, when she saw that Elphaba was looking pale, her eyes wide. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Elphaba took deep breaths, but she was feeling faint and dizzy. "I just…" She stared at Galinda, her eyes even more huge than usual.

Galinda sucked in her breath with a sharp hiss when she realised what this was about.

"Elphie…" she whispered, her own eyes wide as saucers now, too. "Please tell me you used protection."

"I…" Elphaba hugged herself, squeezing her own waist tightly. "We were just… tipsy, and… not really thinking straight, I guess…"

"That's no excuse!" Galinda suddenly yelled. "For Oz's sake, _Elphie_! I would have thought you, of all people, would be smarter than this! What if you get pregnant?"

Elphaba stared at the floor, ashamed and scared now of what might happen. Upon seeing this, Galinda calmed down as quickly as she had gotten upset.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. We'll deal with this. When was your last period?"

Elphaba shrugged helplessly.

"Work with me here, Elphie!" Galinda shook her gently. "When was your last period?"

"I don't know!" Elphaba pushed her hands through her hair. "Three weeks ago, maybe? Four? It just… comes and goes. Sometimes twice a month and sometimes only once in two months. I don't know!"

"Okay! Calm down!" Galinda squeezed Elphaba's shoulder. "Don't worry, Elphie, really. It will be fine."

"Father would kill me," the young witch whispered, clearly horrified. "I'm not joking, Galinda. He would be furious. The best case scenario would be for him to disown me. He might hit me, or force me to break off the pregnancy. Nessa will shun me, Fiyero will hate me, Father will pull me out of Shiz –"

"Hey!" Galinda shouted in an attempt to get Elphaba's attention.

The green girl looked at her, panic clearly visible in her eyes, and Galinda softened.

"It will be okay, Elphie," she said soothingly, stroking Elphaba's arm. "Really. Listen to me. Nothing might have happened, okay? Maybe you're not pregnant at all. Maybe we're panicking over nothing here."

"And what if I am?" Elphaba whispered hoarsely.

"Then we'll deal with it." Galinda continued to comfortingly stroke her friend's arm. "I'll help you, Elphie. I can't do anything about your father, but I will help you, and I just know that Nessa will, too… and Fiyero loves you, Elphaba. He really, really does. He has for months already. I honestly think that if you turned out to be pregnant right now, he would marry you."

"But I don't want that for him," Elphaba insisted desperately. "This was my mistake, not his, and I can't let it ruin his life!"

"It was a mistake _both _of you made," Galinda corrected her, "and so both of you will deal with it. And besides, Fiyero would never see marriage with you as 'ruining his life'. _Ever_. If it doesn't happen now, I'd be extremely surprised if it doesn't happen within the next two years or something."

Elphaba just looked at her and Galinda pulled her into another hug, stroking her long, black hair.

"It will be fine, Elphie, really," she said reassuringly. "There's probably not even a problem. Let's not panic or worry until we have reason to, okay?"

"Okay," Elphaba agreed in a small voice.

Galinda let go and looked at her friend earnestly. "And you have to tell Fiyero," she said, knowing Elphaba would most likely try to keep this a secret from him. "Okay?"

Elphaba squirmed. "Glin –"

"No." Galinda shook her head violently. "He loves you, Elphie. You're together now. You share these things. You did it together, you'll worry about this together; and if it turns out there is, in fact, reason for worrying – which I highly doubt – then you'll deal with that together, too. I won't let you shut him out the way you always do with everyone. You'd try to protect him, I know, but he has a right to know. If you don't tell him, I will."

"Galinda –"

"Promise me."

Elphaba looked crestfallen and her shoulders slumped. She hung her head. "I promise."

"Good." Galinda smiled. "Now give me a minute to grab a nightgown and then scoot over. I'm sleeping here tonight. You shouldn't be alone right now and Fiyero might already be asleep."

Elphaba could feel tears stinging her eyes. "Glin?"

The blonde turned. "Yes?"

Elphaba managed a shaky smile. "You're the best friend ever."

Galinda smiled, too, wide and beamingly. "I love you, Elphie."

Then she slipped out of the room to get her things.


	9. Day Nine

**AN: Okay, so this will be my last chapter of this story before I go to London. Honestly, I'm not sure yet what will happen in the next chapters and so I can't say how much longer it will be, but whatever :3.**

**Nia: I must admit that I was torn between either ending this chapter very cute, nice, and fluffy; or ending it with a huge, horrendible cliffhanger that would leave you crying for the entire four days 'til I get back. Then I decided that I am a genuinely nice person and would never do that to you, and so I made it fluffy. I know, I know, I'm just so goodly! *toss toss***

**One more _Dances with princes _update tonight and then a four-day hiatus!**

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**Day Nine**

When they all sat together for breakfast the next morning, Fiyero immediately noticed that something was wrong. While Nessa and Boq were talking and Galinda was chattering away about one thing or another, Elphaba was quiet and didn't say a word. She didn't even roll her eyes when Galinda started talking about make-up and she barely ate anything, only picked at her food.

When breakfast was over, everyone ran off to the beach. Elphaba made to follow her friends, but Fiyero stopped her. "Fae? Can I talk to you for a clock-tick?"

She lowered her eyes. "Sure," she said, sounding miserable. As if he was going to kill her, or something.

He gently sat her down on the couch and crouched in front of her. "What's going on?" he asked. "Something is wrong. You're not acting like yourself."

"Yeah…" Elphaba sighed. Her entire being screamed at her to make up some excuse – she hadn't slept well, she had a headache, she was just worried about… something… she could come up with something.

But she remembered her promise to Galinda and she knew that the blonde had been serious about her threat. If Elphaba didn't tell Fiyero, Galinda would, and the green girl had no doubt that that would only make things worse. She'd be embarrassed, Fiyero would be hurt she didn't tell him herself… it wasn't worth it.

And so she said, "I talked to Galinda last night."

"Okay," Fiyero prodded gently. "Go on."

She raised her gaze to meet his briefly. "About protection."

She could see realisation dawning on his face – it would have been comical, had the situation not been so serious. The blood quite literally drained from his face and he breathed, "Oh, _Shiz_," followed by a string of words that Galinda would have scolded him for, but Elphaba thought they summed up the situation pretty well.

"Yeah," she said, looking down again. "That was what I thought."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay." He shook his head. "Well… we obviously should have thought of that," he said, making a face. "But it's not a _problem_. I mean, for all we know, nothing's going on, right?"

"And what if there is?" Elphaba whispered. "What if I'm…"

Fiyero entwined his fingers with hers and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "Then we'll just get married a little earlier than planned," he said. "Mum and Dad will help us figure something out with the baby so that we can both still finish Shiz. It will be fine, Fae."

She gaped at him.

He blinked, confused. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'a little earlier than planned'?" she demanded in a high voice. "Since when did we plan anything?"

He winced. "Um… a little earlier than I had planned out in my head?" he tried, but she was completely dumbstruck.

He knelt down in front of her again and looked into her eyes. "Elphaba, I love you," he said. "I told you that. I also told you that this is different from before. I've never loved a girl before, you know. But I love _you_, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

She basically looked like she was about to faint and Fiyero actually started to grow worried now. "Fae? Elphaba, say something. Hey." He caught her chin and made her look at him. When he saw the confusion and fear in her eyes, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, hugging her tightly.

"We'll figure it out," he whispered. "I love you. No matter what happens, we'll find a solution, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, her voice trembling. He pressed a kiss to her temple and held her until she stopped shaking. Then he pulled away and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"How about you and I go and do something fun today?" he suggested. "Just you and me. Like… a date."

"I'd… I'd like that," she said softly and he smiled.

"Good." He kissed her gently and then helped her to her feet. "Come on."

After letting the others know where they were going, Fiyero led Elphaba away from the beach house. They walked along the beach for a long time – the same route Fiyero had taken 'the morning after', as he still called it in his head. That day he had come across a few rowboats he remembered from when he had come here with his parents and he figured that would be a nice thing to do with Elphaba.

The smile on her face told him enough and he pushed the boat a little bit into the water, then bowed and held out a hand to help Elphaba into it. "Milady."

She chuckled and accepted his hand, sitting down. He pushed the boat further into the lake and jumped in himself, making it sway dangerously.

She grinned at him. "Do you even know how to row?" she asked him teasingly.

He stuck out his tongue. "Excuse me, Miss Elphaba," he said, pretending to be offended. "I happen to have a lot of rowing experience. In fact, one could even call me a rowing champion."

She laughed. He used one of the oars to splash water at her, at which she gasped, and he gave her a wicked grin.

She shoved him. He fell back, making the boat rock once more.

"Oops," she said innocently.

He chuckled and rowed further out onto the lake. Elphaba closed her eyes and tilted her head back, raising her face to the sun.

Fiyero watched her. She was wearing a dark blue summer dress, patterned with lighter shades of blue and white, that looked just amazing with the emerald shade of her skin. She had pulled her hair back into the usual braid, but the wind had pulled strands free from it that were now dancing around her head and framing her face. She had been very tense and anxious this morning, but Fiyero was glad to see that she seemed to have relaxed a little now.

She opened one eye. "Are you staring at me?"

"Would I ever do such a thing?" he asked with a grin.

She opened her other eye, too, and narrowed them both. "Yes."

He chuckled. "Fair enough."

She raised an eyebrow. "So were you?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Maybe not. I guess you'll never know." He laughed at the face she made and leant forward to kiss her, burying his fingers in her hair and playing with the silky strands.

She kissed him back, shifting a little so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. He broke away and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you."

She bit her lip. "Yero?"

"Yes?"

"Did you mean it?" she asked softly. "What you said this morning? I mean, if I really do turn out to be…" She trailed off.

He cupped her face and looked deep into her eyes, trying to convey to her how sincere he was being.

"Elphaba," he said. There were a thousand things he wanted to tell her, a thousand reassurances he wanted to make, but the thing that eventually came out was, "I meant every word."

He didn't have to say anything else. She kissed him again and he pulled her into his arms. The boat rocked again.

He pulled away, chuckling. "Careful."

"What?" she teased him, smiling. "Prince Fiyero Tiggular is afraid to get wet?"

"I am not afraid," he declared, letting go of her and standing up as if to prove his point. "I am the wonderful, amazing, magnificent Fiyero Tiggular, the bravest man in all of Oz," here he stepped up onto the wooden bench and struck a pose, "Prince of the Vinkus and protector of damsels in distress. Handsome, muscular, and fearless, I know exactly how to –"

He was cut off when he accidentally rocked the boat again. For a few moment, he stumbled back and forth, trying to regain his balance; but then he lost it and toppled out of the boat and into the lake.

When he came up, spluttering, Elphaba was nearly crying with laughter.

"That was impressive," she hiccupped, trying to regain her composure. When she saw the way Fiyero was glaring at her, however, from underneath a flock of dripping wet, sandy hair, she lost it again and burst into giggles all over again.

"You think that's funny, don't you?" he growled. "Are you laughing at me?"

"I wouldn't dare," she cried, wiping away tears of laughter.

He swam to the boat and held out a hand. "Help me back in?"

Still chuckling, she took his hand and tried to haul him back into the boat, half expecting him to try and pull her into the water with him. He did try, but she was prepared and just let go of his hand, causing him to disappear under the water again.

By the time he managed to climb back into the boat with her, she was still laughing and he just grumbled under his breath. "This wasn't really how I had envisioned this date."

She smiled. "Well… you wanted to do something fun." She burst into giggles again. "And I must say I'm having lots of fun."

"Oh, are you now?" He grinned and lurched at her, trying to push her out of the boat and into the water, but she was faster and she ducked aside.

Fiyero lost his balance and fell into the water once more.

He rowed back to the shore after that, grumbling good-naturedly, but the truth was that Elphaba laughing – and yes, even giggling – was his favourite sound in the world; and he would happily jump out of a boat and into a lake fully dressed a thousand times more if that would light up her face like this.

When they reached the beach, Elphaba stopped and frowned, puzzled. "What…"

Fiyero grinned when he saw the large picnic basket in the sand, right next to a brightly coloured blanket. "I have my ways." In reality, he had talked Galinda into making the couple lunch and dropping off these things here, as a surprise for Elphaba. The blonde had happily agreed, since it was 'so romantic' and she knew Elphaba could use a fun day out.

They ate in a comfortable silence and afterwards they went walking back, hand in hand, Elphaba with her shoes in her free hand as she let the waves wash over her bare feet. Fiyero looked at her and he knew that everything he had said to her was true. She was the girl he loved, and nothing would be more amazing to him than the chance to marry her and start a family with her – whether that be now, within a few months, or in ten years.

Feeling his gaze on her, she turned her head, smiling a bit self-consciously when she saw him watching her. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he told her, smiling. He stopped walking and looked at her again. "Nothing's wrong."

"Then what –" she began, but she was cut off when Fiyero swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply, tangling his fingers in her long, thick hair as he pulled her flush against him.

"I just love you," he breathed when they had to come up for air, both of them panting slightly. "A lot. Like, really – a _lot_."

She chuckled softly. "I love you, too."

"And whatever life throws at us, Fae," Fiyero said, running his fingers through her hair and down her sides to rest on her waist, bringing her even closer, "we'll deal with it. And we'll make it through. Together. Okay?"

"Okay," she whispered. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again.

Fiyero smiled against her lips and happily kissed her back.


	10. Day Ten

**AN: Here I am again! Not many more chapters to go - maybe two after this one? Twelve in total? That seems like a nice number... I know I said they'd be at the beach house for two weeks, but I don't think I can think of enough to happen in this story to fill five more chapters.**

**Musicgal3: That song thing is awesome! (Loved your 'aww's on _Dances with princes_, by the way. They made me laugh :P.)**

**LetWickedNeverDie: Maybe... ;)**

**Fae'sFlower: I know, I know *curtsies elegantly* you're all welcome, it's just how goodly I am.**

* * *

**Day Ten**

When Elphaba came downstairs the next morning, she found Nessa and Boq at the breakfast table, both still in their nightwear, feeding each other pieces of fruit. Fiyero was sitting across from them with a letter in his hand and a slightly anxious look on his face.

"What's wrong, Yero?" she asked immediately and he looked up, forcing himself to smile as he crumpled the piece of paper in his hand.

"Nothing."

Her eyes narrowed.

He sighed and put the letter on the table again. "It's, um…"

"Did something happen?" she asked worriedly. "Who is it from?"

"My parents." He sighed unhappily. "Fae, they… um… want to meet you."

Elphaba's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

Boq and Nessa tore themselves away from one another for just a few moments to blink at Fiyero owlishly.

"What is all the worrying about, then?" asked Boq. "Don't you like your parents meeting Elphaba? You told them she's your girlfriend, right?"

"I did," Fiyero said. "And I'd love for them to meet. That's not the point."

"What is the point, then?" asked Nessa, clearly confused.

Fiyero nodded at Elphaba, who was already looking pale and nervously biting her lip, and Nessa understood.

"Oh, Fabala, it will be fine," she tried to reassure her sister. "Fiyero's parents won't bite!"

"They won't," Elphaba agreed softly. "But what if they hate me? What if they think I'm not good enough for Fiyero? Or that I'm too ugly? Or what if I really am pregnant – what would they _say_?!"

"Hey," Fiyero said, beginning to calm her down, but Nessa's eyes had widened.

"What?!" she demanded, nearly screeching. "Elphaba, please tell me you didn't! As if it's not bad enough already that you _did _that stuff – you didn't even use _protection_?! Have you completely misplaced your mind? Are you crazy? Do you know what Father would say? Do you know what everyone _else _would say?! Fiyero's parents… for Oz's sake, Elphaba, I thought you were smarter than this!"

"Nessa!" Fiyero yelled, effectively shutting the younger girl up.

He glared at her. "This isn't helping."

"He's right, love," Boq murmured to the wheelchair-bound girl. "Calm down."

Fiyero wanted to turn back to face Elphaba, but she had already fled outside.

He followed her, sitting down next to her in the sand and pulling her into his arms.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart," he said, kissing her temple. "Really. Don't worry, my parents will love you."

"Nessa is right," Elphaba whispered. "What would everyone say if they found out? It was a bad idea, Fiyero. We shouldn't have done it."

He sighed. "Maybe not," he conceded. "But we can't change anything about it now."

She closed her eyes for a moment.

"And I don't regret it," he continued. "I love you."

She didn't say it back. She didn't say anything at all, but he could see that she was fighting back tears.

"Hey," he said softly, cupping her face and making her look at him. "It will be okay."

"What if it won't be?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"It will be." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "My parents are not horrible people, Elphaba. They already know many things about you. They already know I love you. And they're going to love you, too, I'm sure of it."

"But what if –"

"If you do turn out to be pregnant, they won't blame you," he said. "If anything, they'll get mad at _me _for not being more careful. They'd probably make me take responsibility and marry you, but since we – I," he corrected himself, "was already planning to do that, anyway, there won't be a problem there. Unless you don't want to…"

Despite her tears, she snorted.

He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "Don't cry. I knew you'd be nervous – that's why I was so reluctant to tell you – but it will be okay, Fae, don't worry. Trust me."

"I trust you," she whispered and he kissed her.

"Good."

They went back inside, where Nessa was still brooding, arms crossed and a frown on her face. She glared at Elphaba as the green girl came in, but she didn't say anything.

Galinda joined them – also still in her pyjamas – and they all ate breakfast… or, well, that's what they meant to do. Nessa didn't eat anything else – she just kept on staring daggers at Elphaba, who, in turn, was staring down at her plate without taking a bite. Fiyero, sitting next to her, had his arm around her and murmured reassuring words in her ear, while Boq tried to talk Nessa out of her angry state. Galinda was the only one really enjoying her breakfast, oblivious to the tension around her.

She skipped back up to her room to wash up afterwards. Boq went to his room to get dressed, too, after giving Nessa a few nervous glances over his shoulder.

Fiyero kissed Elphaba's cheek. "I'm going to get dressed, too. Are you coming?"

She shook her head. "I'll do the dishes."

He looked at Nessa for a moment, then back at his girlfriend. "Are you sure?"

"She's not going to eat me," Elphaba said. "I'm fine."

He hesitated, but she shooed him away and he finally left, determined to hurry up as to not leave Elphaba alone with her furious sister for too long.

Elphaba collected the dirty dishes, ignoring the fuming looks Nessarose sent her. Finally Nessa hissed, "I can't believe you did this."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Elphaba said softly. "We were all a little drunk."

"And yet Galinda and I didn't sleep with random guys and forgot to use protection!"

Elphaba whirled around, eyes blazing.

"Fiyero is _not _a random guy," she said fiercely. "You know that, Nessa. You know me better than that. I would never have done that with just anyone. I love him. I loved him then, too. The only thing the alcohol did was –"

"What?" Nessa snarled. "Turn you into a slut?"

Elphaba stared at her and Nessa immediately clasped her hands over her mouth, horrified with herself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that…"

"But you thought it, didn't you?" Elphaba turned back to the counter, trying to breathe slowly and calm herself down. "Is that how you see me?"

"No!" Nessa protested weakly. "Not at all! Fabala…"

"Don't call me that."

"Elphaba." Nessa sighed. "You're not a slut… I'm sorry. It's just… it's not how Father raised us, and it's not right. You're not married. You weren't even together!"

"We are now." Elphaba turned around again. "And we _will _be married, one day."

She looked at her sister. "It wasn't smart of us to forget protection, I agree, but it's not your problem anyway, so can you please just leave us alone about it?"

Nessa looked reluctant, but she nodded. "Alright. You… you're right," she admitted. "I won't mention it again."

Elphaba nodded brusquely and finished the dishes, letting the water drain away and drying her hands on a towel.

"And Elphaba?"

She couldn't look at her sister. "Yes?"

Nessa took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry about… what I said."

"I know," said Elphaba. Then she left.

She knew Nessa was sorry. She believed that. But she also knew that deep down, it was what her sister thought of her because of what she'd done.

She went out onto the beach, where Galinda beckoned her enthusiastically to join her on a towel and "sunbathe with me, Elphie, I want to put my theory about you becoming a darker green in the sun to the test!". She tried to forget about Nessa and just have fun. They swam and Galinda read her another 'fill in the blanks' story.

Fiyero asked her how it had gone with Nessa, but she'd waved him off with a muttered, "Fine," – which he most definitely did not buy, but he decided not to press the matter now. Instead, he watched her playing around in the water with Galinda. After a while, the girls came back and stretched out on their respective towels to dry up in the sun. Fiyero, who had found some wildflowers in the grass behind the beach, sneaked up behind Elphaba and pulled her head in his lap. He started waving the wildflowers through her long, raven hair.

She smiled, but didn't even open her eyes as he fidgeted with the soft strands, trying to braid them around the flowers. It kept him busy whilst allowing him not only to touch Elphaba's hair – he loved her hair – but also to look at her face all the time without her complaining about it, since her eyes were still closed.

She fell asleep after a while, but he never stopped playing with her hair. Nessarose and Boq joined them around lunchtime, Boq pushing Nessa's chair across the stone path that lead from the house. She had a picnic basket sitting in her lap.

Fiyero's eyes lit up. "Ooh, food!"

Galinda, sitting up as well, rolled her eyes. "Oz, Fiyero, you're such a guy," she said, but then her stomach grumbled and she blushed furiously, quickly reaching for the basket. "What's in there?"

"We spent all morning in the kitchen," Boq explained, opening the basket. "We made sandwiches, put in some fruit and juice, and we even attempted baking a cake with banana and nuts, but we're not sure that one worked out…"

"It was Fabala's recipe," Nessa explained quietly. "She left some written-down recipes in the kitchen… I figured maybe it would make a good apology."

Fiyero frowned. "For yelling at her this morning?"

Nessa averted her eyes. "For calling her a slut," she muttered.

Fiyero was flabbergasted. "_What_?!"

"I said I was sorry," Nessa said, still not looking at him. "But I don't think she really forgave me. It just… slipped out. I was angry, and…"

Elphaba stirred in her sleep and Fiyero stroked her hair, but he was still looking at Nessa. "How could you say such a thing to your own sister?" he demanded. "She's not a slut, Nessa. I can't believe you would even think such an awful thing, let alone say it out loud. She practically raised you, she took care of you all her life! Did you ever even _thank _her for that? Did you ever tell her you appreciate what she's done for you, or that you love her? Ever?"

Nessa was beet red now and staring down at the arms of her chair, near tears. Boq covered her hand with his own, but he kept quiet, not trying to reassure Nessa, because he knew Fiyero was right.

Galinda, though, took pity on the girl in the wheelchair and said softly, "That's enough, Fiyero."

He looked at her and she placed her hand on his arm. "You're right, of course, but getting mad at Nessa won't change anything," she said. "I know you feel horrible about Elphie's childhood. I do, too. But we can't change it. We can only change how she will be treated in the future."

He nodded reluctantly and Galinda let go of him.

Nessa sniffled. "I really am sorry…"

"Save your apologies, Nessa," Fiyero said, suddenly tired. "Just… forget about it. You shouldn't be apologising to me, anyway."

"I'll apologise to Fabala once she wakes up," Nessa promised.

Boq and Galinda dug into the food after that, but Fiyero suddenly didn't feel very hungry anymore and Nessa just looked like she was about to burst into tears. It was a little awkward, right up until Boq announced that he and Nessa would be going into town together and stay for dinner. Fiyero felt a little relieved when they were gone.

He realised that Galinda was right. He would change Elphaba's past in a heartbeat, if he could – but he couldn't, and he would just have to deal with that.

He could change the way she was treated in the future, though, and he was determined to do just that.


	11. Day Eleven

**AN: More fluff coming your way :).**

**The Wizard of Wicked: A sequel? Sure. Days of Autumn, Days of Winter, Days of Spring... :P No, there probably won't be a sequel, but you never know.**

* * *

**Day Eleven**

"_Sunburn_." Elphaba winced as she applied some cream to the sensitive skin on her shoulder. Even though she had used the same cream yesterday night and hoped it would soothe the pain, the mere touch of her fingertips was still too much. "Honestly. Why didn't any of you wake me up? You let me sleep out in the sun for hours!"

"Because I knew you didn't sleep well the night before," Galinda said apologetically. "I heard you rummaging around when I woke up to use the bathroom, and I figured you could use a nice nap… I didn't think about the sun. I'm sorry."

Fiyero gently took the bottle of cream from his girlfriend. "Let me?"

She nodded her consent and moved her hair out of the way so that he could access her shoulders better. Again, she flinched a little when his hands touched her skin; but he was very careful and gentle and she sighed with relief when she felt the cool cream calming down her burnt skin.

She looked over her shoulder at Galinda. "At least now you got your wish," she said drily. "Congratulations. You were right about me changing colour in the sun."

Galinda giggled. "Only you didn't really tan."

"Or turn red, for that matter." Elphaba made a face at her mirror image. Her skin looked some weird shade of olive green that she had never seen on herself before, but she hated it even more than the usual emerald colour. "I look ridiculous."

Fiyero planted a kiss in her neck. "You look gorgeous, as always."

"Liar." She turned and took the cream back from him, closing the bottle and putting it away. Then she collapsed on her bed, moaning. "Sweet _Oz_. I am never heading out into the sun ever again."

Fiyero chuckled softly and sat down on the edge of her bed. He wanted to touch her, but refrained from doing so, afraid he'd only hurt her painful skin. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

She sighed. "It will be fine. Eventually. I just can't believe I'm going to have to meet your parents looking like _this_." She gestured at herself.

"Don't worry, Elphie," Galinda assured her from the other side of the room, where she was applying some lipstick in front of the mirror in Elphaba's room. "That cream does wonders for sunburn, I promise you. Within now and a few days, it will be completely gone. By the time you meet Fiyero's parents, after this holiday, you'll be completely back to normal."

"Yes, because that is such an improvement," Elphaba said miserably.

"Don't be like that," Fiyero chided her. He cupped her face with both hands and kissed her nose. "Hey. You're amazing. And beautiful." He smiled and kissed her lips next. "I love you."

She moaned dramatically.

He chuckled and bumped his hip into hers, gingerly pushing her a little to the side so that he could stretch out next to her. He tried to put his arm around her, but she yelped.

"Right," he said, pulling back so quickly he almost fell off the bed. "Sunburn. Pain. Sorry."

She chuckled weakly. "I am so pathetic."

"Come here, you." He gingerly drew her into his arms and she pillowed her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"I feel like such an idiot."

"Why?" Galinda asked as she puckered her lips, studying herself in the mirror. "Everyone gets sunburnt sometimes. Even I did… once. Or twice." She made a face. "I looked like a lobster."

"At least you didn't look like an olive," Elphaba said wryly.

"Fae!" Fiyero scolded her.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Galinda rolled her eyes. "You two are incorrigible. And cute," she added as an afterthought. "Incorrigibly cute." She hopped to her feet. "Elphie, you should take a cold bath later today," she advised. "That helps. Keep applying that cream, and stay out of the sun." She tossed her hair. "I'm going to work on my tan again, if you don't mind." With that, she bounded off.

Elphaba was scowling as she watched her friend go. "I hope she turns into a lobster."

Fiyero laughed. "Poor Galinda."

Elphaba just grumbled something under her breath.

Boq invited Fiyero to go and see some race with him in the village that afternoon, which he would love to do, but he still hesitated. When Elphaba realised that, she all but chased him away, telling him bluntly that it was absolutely ridiculous for him not to go and do something fun because she had an Oz-forsaken _sunburn_.

"I'm not dying," she said, throwing her arms up in the air in exasperation. "It's a _sunburn_. Go, Fiyero. Have fun. I'll amuse myself. I still have four books left to read."

His eyebrows shot up. "Four?! Of the twelve you brought with you? Are you telling me that in the eleven days we've been here, between all the swimming and tanning and hanging out with us, you finished _eight _books?!"

She shrugged. "I like reading?" she tried, grinning sheepishly.

He shook his head incredulously, but he did go with Boq.

Nessarose had apologised to Elphaba again and the green girl had forgiven her sister; but honestly, she was still a little upset over it and she didn't really want to talk to Nessa right now. That was why right after Fiyero left, she announced that she would be upstairs taking that cold bath in the hopes of it lessening her sunburn.

When Fiyero came back from the race, just before dinner, he immediately went to find Elphaba. She wasn't outside or in the living room or kitchen, so he went upstairs and knocked on her door. "Fae?"

"Yeah." She sounded a little strange.

"Don't come in!" Galinda shrieked.

Fiyero chuckled. "What? Are you naked?" he teased through the door.

The blonde let out an indignant cry at that and started yelling at him, but Elphaba interrupted her friend. "It's okay, Glin. You can let him in."

"Are you sure?" Galinda asked gently, which only increased Fiyero's worry.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously. "Are you okay? Fae?"

"I'm fine." He heard her moving, but then Galinda scolded her friend.

"Stay down, Elphie. I know how you feel and I can honestly tell you that the best thing for you to do right now is not move. Okay? Okay. Are you really sure I can let Fiyero in?"

"Yeah," Elphaba muttered and moments later, the door opened.

Fiyero immediately entered, but what he saw did nothing to lessen his concern. Elphaba was lying on her bed, on her stomach, looking like she was in pain. When he came in, she looked up at him and tried for a reassuring smile, but it looked more like a grimace.

He immediately panicked. "Fae, what's wrong?" he asked urgently, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

She paused for a moment, furrowing her brow. "Well… um… nothing's _wrong_, per se." She looked up at him again. "The good news is that I'm not pregnant."

He felt relieved at that, if only because he knew how relieved _she _must be. "Okay. That's good, right?" He reached out to smooth her hair away from her face. "Then what's wrong with you?"

She gave him a pointed and slightly sour look. "How do girls usually find out that they're not pregnant?"

He flushed when he realised what she meant. "_Oh_."

Galinda giggled. "Don't worry, Fiyero, Elphie will be just fine. I made her lie down on a hot water pitch," she explained. "That's what always helps best with my own cramps – pressure and something warm."

"The first day is always the worst," Elphaba said with a sigh, "but I'll be fine. And I'm really glad I'm not pregnant," she added.

Fiyero smiled and leant down to kiss her brow. "Me, too… for now, anyway. Who knows, in five years…"

She rolled her eyes. "If we ever make it to five years."

He tapped her nose chidingly. "Of course we'll make it to five years. And ten, and twenty, and fifty, and a hundred –"

"You're absolutely ridiculous." Elphaba winced slightly at the cramps.

Fiyero placed his hand on her lower back, rubbing it softly. "I'm sorry you're in pain, sweetheart," he said, concern still visible in his sapphire blue eyes. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Don't remove your hand," she murmured. "It's warm and it helps with the back pains."

He chuckled. "Okay." He slipped his hand under her blouse so that he could massage her skin directly, and she sighed happily at the warmth of his hand. Galinda was right – heat always helped, but unfortunately they only had one hot water pitch, and her stomach cramps were currently worse than her back pains.

Fiyero gently ran the fingers of his other hand down the side of her face, caressing the skin. "How's your sunburn?"

"Non-existent compared to the cramps," she muttered. "Better than this morning, I think. You know? This isn't really how I had imagined this holiday."

Galinda giggled. "No, I bet you hadn't expected to do _stuff _with Fiyero on a beach, then get together with him, and then get sunburnt and end up in bed with cramps," she teased. "I bet no-one would expect their holiday to be like that. Oh, Elphie, you'll be fine. You won't be able to swim anymore…"

"That's okay." Elphaba sighed. "I'll just… stay in the shade from now on. Read books."

"And spend some time with your boyfriend," Fiyero said sternly.

"And apparently I'm also spending some time with my boyfriend," Elphaba continued drily to Galinda, who giggled again.

"You should. You won't see one another for the rest of the summer," she pointed out.

Fiyero's face fell and Elphaba had to admit she felt a pang of disappointment when she realised that her friend was right. This holiday was wonderful, even despite everything that had happened, because she'd been around Fiyero all the time, with their friends nearby as well; but in a few days, she would be returning to Munchkinland and he to the Vinkus, and they wouldn't see each other again until they were back at Shiz.

Fiyero, sensing her mood, pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We'll write," he promised. "And we'll see each other again in six weeks."

"Yeah…" Elphaba sighed.

"Six weeks is a lifetime," Galinda said and Fiyero shot her a look.

"That's not really helping, you know."

She giggled. "Why don't you go to the Vinkus with Fiyero, Elphie?"

Fiyero's eyes lit up, but Elphaba didn't even raise her head. "Because Father would never let me."

Galinda moped. "Because you have to take care of Nessa. Oz, Elphie, your father is horrible."

The green girl chuckled weakly. "It's just what I do, Glin. I love Nessa and I know she feels most comfortable with me helping her, so I do."

"I get that. But I still don't like it." Galinda sighed.

"Maybe she won't mind someone else caring for her for a few weeks," Fiyero said hopefully. "I mean, she could talk to your father… and she kind of owes you."

"No, she doesn't!" Elphaba protested. "For what?"

"For what she said," Galinda chimed in. "I think Fiyero is right. This would be a good way for her to make it up to you."

Fiyero rose to his feet, even though Elphaba whined a little at the loss of his hand on her back. "I'll go and ask her right now," he said, squeezing her hand before letting go. "And I'll bring you some tea."

She smiled. "Thanks, Yero. Did I ever tell you that I love you?"

He laughed. "You might have."

"Well, I love you."

"I love you, too, Fae." He leant down to kiss her lips. "We'll figure something out. Trust me."

With that, he left the room to go and find Nessarose.

* * *

***cackles with lightning flashing around me and the ground shaking as I boom "The Ultimate Queen of Cliffies has fooled you all! ...except for Nia!"***

**Kidding, there were more of you who saw the non-pregnancy coming. I contemplated her being pregnant for a short while, but decided against it.**


	12. Day Twelve

**AN: So here is the final chapter, guys. I hope you enjoy :).**

* * *

**Day Twelve**

Fiyero found his girlfriend on the porch once more, curled up on the rocking bench with a book. He sat down next to her and just beamed at her until she finally looked up from her book and scowled.

"You look way too happy," she stated. "What is going on? Should I be worried?"

He shook his head, grinning widely. "No." He drew her into his arms. "On the contrary. You should _not _be worried anymore."

She eyed him warily. "I don't trust this."

He laughed and kissed her. "Guess what?"

"I don't want to guess," she said, still scowling. "Just tell me already, Fiyero. Spit it out. What crazy plan have you come up with this time?"

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off again before he could make a sound.

"And no, we're not going to elope just so that we can spend the summer together."

He chuckled. "That would actually have been a pretty good idea. It's a shame I didn't think of that."

She arched one eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat and became serious again. "But we don't have to elope to be able to spend the summer together."

She looked at him.

"I talked to Nessa," he said. "She really does feel guilty about what she said; and when I asked her if she would mind you coming to the Vinkus with me for the rest of the summer, she was okay with that… sort of, anyway. Like, she wasn't really _okay_ with it, but then I told her it would be a good way for her to make it up to you…"

"You guilt-tripped her," Elphaba concluded, but Fiyero protested.

"It was the only way to get her to agree, Fae, and you know me – I'd do anything if that meant I could spend more time with you. So Nessa agreed, and she promised to tell your father once she'd get home."

Elphaba frowned. "Wait. _Tell_ him?"

"Well, if we _ask_ him, he might say no," Fiyero explained sheepishly.

Elphaba chortled. "Your logic is flawless," she teased him and he grinned at her.

"So Nessa and Boq will be returning to Munchkinland alone and tell your father that you won't be coming home for the summer," he said, already feeling giddy at the prospect. "That way, _they _can deal with an exploding Frex, while I kidnap you to the Vinkus and we have the most amazing time together." He started beaming again. "What do you think?"

"I think…" She shook her head. "I think you're an idiot," she said, smiling. "And Frex is definitely not going to be happy with this, but with Nessa there to placate him… he should be fine. You're amazing, Yero. Thank you… for doing this. I mean, I'd love to come to the Vinkus with you."

A grin spread across his face once more. "Is that a yes?"

She laughed. "Yes."

He whooped and whisked her off the bench to dance around on the porch with her. She swatted at him until he put her down, after which she glared up at him, crossing her arms. "Don't make me change my mind," she said threateningly.

"Right." He lowered his eyes and shuffled his feet like a naughty schoolboy who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes. He grinned cheekily at her and pulled her to him again, kissing her softly.

"No saying goodbye for the summer," he said.

She smiled. "I like that."

"Me, too." He kissed her again and then sat down on the rocking bench with Elphaba in his lap. "So what are we going to do in the Vinkus? You'll meet my family, of course… Mum is probably going to spoil you rotten and Dad will want to talk to you about boring things like economy and politics all the time, and show you the library…"

Elphaba's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Fiyero sighed. "There we go. She will be in the Vinkus with me, but she won't be any closer than she would have been if she had gone back to Munchkinland," he declared dramatically, earning himself an elbow between the ribs.

He laughed. "Seriously, though – I think you and Dad will get along very well. Mum is probably going to want to take you on walks through the garden, to show off her Vinkun roses, and I'd love to show you the Thousand Year Grasslands and the villages around the castle where we live… it really is a beautiful place, you know. The Vinkus."

"I know. Or I've heard it is, anyway." She dropped her head against his shoulder. "I can't wait to see it for myself."

"There is one thing, though," Fiyero mumbled into her neck, making her look up, slightly worried at the tone of his voice.

"What?"

Fiyero shifted a little, pretending to be nervous. "I kind of promised Nessa that we would try to keep the 'fornicating' to a minimum," he said, laughing when Elphaba slapped his chest, "and that if we do 'fornicate', we would always use protection and not do it in any 'ungodly' places where people might see us." He grinned cheekily. "Honestly, that just made me feel the desire to do it in a church or chapel somewhere, purely to piss Nessa off. I mean, imagine her face if she'd find out about that. She'd explode. Possibly literally."

"Fiyero!"

He chuckled. "Relax, Fae. I'm kidding. Obviously."

Elphaba had buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "Oh, Oz," she moaned. "This is horrible. I am never fornicating _ever _again."

He laughed at first, but then his face fell. "Wait. What?!"

She smirked. "Sorry, Yero."

"No!" he protested. "Hey! I thought we were okay now, and we talked it through!"

"We _are _okay," she said, "but that doesn't mean we have to fornicate."

"But _Fae_!" he whined, pretending to pout. "_Please_!"

She actually giggled at his face, then tried to shove him off the rocking bench; but he braced himself in time and caught her around the waist, tickling her sides. "Surrender!"

"Never!" she gasped, wiggling herself free and succeeding in pushing him off the bench and onto the porch after all. He grabbed a hold of her at the last moment, however, and with a startled shriek, she fell on top of him.

He grinned up at her. "I like this better."

She poked out her tongue. "Of course you do."

He made puppy eyes at her. "So no fornicating in the Thousand Year Grasslands?"

She scowled and tried to get up, but he rolled over, pinning her underneath him.

She glared at him. "No."

"Or in the gardens of the castle?" he asked her.

She shook her head.

He chuckled. "Not even in the Throne Room?" he teased.

Her eyes widened in shock. "You're not serious!"

"It's always been a fantasy of mine," he said earnestly, but he relented when she started poking his abdomen and he burst out laughing. "I was joking, Fae."

"Sure you were." She managed to push him off and scramble to her feet. "No way, Fiyero. You're disgusting."

"Hey!" He caught her hand and pulled her back down to the floor, despite her protests.

"I was just kidding," he said, his blue eyes serious. "I love you, Fae, you know that. Fornicating or not," he added teasingly, which earned him a stomp in the shoulder.

"I mean it, though." He looked into her eyes. "It's not about that with you, you know. Even if you told me now that you never want to do that again, _ever_, until the day you die, then I wouldn't mind."

At her sceptical look, he relented, "Okay, I would _mind_, a little… but it wouldn't really matter, you know? It's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that you're with me and it doesn't matter whether we'll be doing _that_, or just kiss, or talk, read, or study together, whatever… Oz, even if I could just spend the rest of my life sitting still and merely _looking _at you, that would be amazing, because you would be there."

She scoffed. "That is so incredibly cheesy!"

"I'm serious!" he said, feeling slightly offended, but she just shook her head.

"No," she declared. "That was the corniest thing I have ever heard."

It took him a moment to realise that she was teasing him again and he narrowed his eyes. "Are you making fun of me?"

She blinked innocently at him and he tackled her and pinned her down beneath him once more. She swatted at him, but to no avail.

He grinned. "Now I have you where I want you."

"I thought you wanted me in your parents' Throne Room to fornicate," she teased with a wicked grin of her own.

Galinda chose that unfortunate time to step out onto the porch and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she overhead Elphaba's words. "Excuse me – _what_?!" she demanded in a high voice.

Elphaba flushed with embarrassment and Fiyero was having difficulty stifling his laughter. "She was joking, Glin," he assured the blonde, still chuckling. "Don't worry."

Galinda breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you sure? Oz, Elphie… Nessa would murder you." Her eyes lit up. "Even though it would be kind of exciting… in a Throne Room!" she gushed. "I mean, that must be about the most special place you can do it, right? It's kind of romantic… in a slightly strange way. But –"

"Galinda!" Elphaba cut her off in exasperation and embarrassment, her face still so red it looked almost purple. "We are doing no such thing, so please stop talking about it!"

"It's making her uncomfortable," Fiyero informed the blonde in a stage whisper and Galinda giggled.

"I love topics that make Elphie uncomfortable," she said mischievously.

Elphaba hurriedly got to her feet and fled inside, where she bumped into Nessa.

"Fabala!" Nessa smiled at her, still a little apologetic. "Did Fiyero tell you?"

"About you helping us so that I can spend the summer in the Vinkus?" Elphaba smiled back at her sister. "He did. Thank you, Nessie."

Nessa shrugged modestly. "It was… the right thing to do, I guess," she said with a small sigh. "I was horrible to you."

"It's okay."

"It is now, I guess. I'll deal with Father for you." Nessa looked up at the green girl. "I hope you'll have fun."

"I will." Elphaba squeezed her hand. "But we still have a few days left here, you know."

Nessa's face lit up. "I know! Fiyero and Boq were talking about lighting a bonfire tonight – wouldn't that be simply wonderful?"

They did, indeed, light a bonfire that night; and they all sat together around it, cradling mugs of hot cocoa. Elphaba was curled up against Fiyero, with his arm around her and Galinda on her other side, resting her head on her roommate's shoulder. Nessarose and Boq were sitting in the sand not far from them and Boq pulled out marshmallows.

"Let's make a toast," Fiyero said, holding up his cup. "To the best holiday ever."

"To friendship," Galinda declared with a beaming smile at them all.

"To love," Elphaba added softly, glancing up at Fiyero, and he smiled and planted a kiss on her hair.

They toasted and drank their hot cocoa, and Galinda squeezed her best friend's arm. "Elphie?"

"Mm?"

Galinda's blue eyes were solemn for once as she asked, "Are you happy?"

Elphaba thought about that for a moment. She had never really asked herself that question; maybe because she was afraid of what the answer would be. She had never felt particularly happy. Maybe after Galinda had befriended her and she had really felt like she was a part of something, that had started to change…

Was she happy now?

She looked at her best friend and then up at her boyfriend – her _boyfriend_! – and she knew the answer.

Maybe things would change once this holiday was over. Maybe it would be different when they all went back to Shiz. Maybe she and Fiyero would break up, or Galinda would fight with her, or other bad things would happen… but that was all in the future. Right now, she felt accepted. Right now and right here, in Fiyero's arms and with Galinda right next to her, she felt warm, and loved, and cared for.

"You know what?" she said, leaning her head back against Fiyero's chest and smiling at Galinda as she squeezed her boyfriend's hand. "I think I am."

Galinda wrapped her arms around the green girl in a hug and Fiyero leant down to kiss her gently; and in that moment, Elphaba knew that she was, indeed, for the first time in maybe her entire life, genuinely happy.

* * *

**Okay. So, um... remember the part where I said 'no hiatus this time'? I lied. Okay, I didn't _lie_, per se, but... well... yeah.**

**The thing is, I'm starting uni again next week and I'm starting off with a course in Law, to prepare for my new Master, which is going to take up a lot of time. Because of that, I'd like to get a bigger head start on my next fanfic in order to avoid update gaps in the future.**

**Aside from that, I also want to spend some more time on my original stories right now. I'm not sure how long this hiatus will be. Knowing me, it probably won't be long... just don't expect my next story tomorrow ;).**

**I hope you enjoyed and thank you so much for your reviews - they mean the world to me!**

**Maddy**


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